Malaysian Hariz Hezri and Indonesian Sania Talita Wahyudi emerged as the Boys’ and Girls’ champions respectively in the 8th RSGC-SportExcel Junior Invitational Golf Championship. Hariz carded rounds of 70, 77 and 71 for a two-over 218 total at The Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) championship East Course, comprising the first nine of the Old Course and second nine of the New Course. The 17-year-old finished three shots ahead of compatriot Rizq Adam Rohizam with Korean youngster Kim Beom-gyu one stroke further back in third place.

“I feel really good because it’s been a long time since I won a tournament. This is certainly a confidence booster,” said Hariz. “My overall game was okay, but it was my course management that really helped me. The course is challenging with lots of trees, tight fairways and fast greens.” Hariz said he was motivated by the fact that he has only a few more months to compete in under-18 tournaments as he will pass the age limit on October 26. “I want to win as many junior tournaments as possible while I’m still eligible,” he said. Next up for Hariz will be a one-week stint at Thailand’s Amata Spring Country Club for the third AAC Academy (June 18-23), an elite training camp organised in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC).

The Malaysian was also a participant in last year’s AAC Academy at the same venue and made his debut appearance in the 2022 AAC at Amata Spring, where he missed the cut after rounds of 76 and 72. “I am very excited about it because many of the previous participants will be there too. I learnt a lot from last year’s AAC Academy, such as course management, how to use Trackman data, shot-shaping and much more,” said Hariz. Hariz recently received his Malaysian ‘O-Level’ results, acing the examinations with eight As and one B. He has secured a spot in Universiti Utara Malaysia and will start the first year of a business management degree course in September.

The Girls’ division, meanwhile, saw Wahyudi secure a wire-to-wire victory following rounds of 72, 72 and 77 for a two-over-par 221 total. The 17-year-old triumphed by two shots from Malaysian Wang Xin Yao, while another local player, Nur Batrisyia Balqis, was a distant third on 233. As the leading Malaysian girl, Wang will join Hariz on an all-expenses paid trip to take part in this year’s Thailand Junior Open. Wahyudi, who has played in numerous tournaments in Malaysia including the 2019 RSGC Ladies Amateur Open when she was 13, said putting was the key to her win. “Overall, my game was pretty solid. I putted really well on the first and second days and managed to save a lot of pars, even from the apron on several occasions. The course is in great shape and is really challenging,” she said.

Wahyudi finished 13th in the recent APGC Junior Championships in Manila and has been in the Indonesian squad for the last two Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championships, at Singapore Island Country Club this year when she finished 39th, and last year at Siam Country Cub in Thailand when she missed the cut. She begins her tertiary education in September at Pertamina University in Jakarta, where she will be pursuing a degree in international relations.

A total of 65 juniors from six countries took in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) event, which was originally known as the RSGC Junior Amateur Open but was renamed to mark the club’s first collaboration with the Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (SportExcel). Established in 1991, SportExcel supports elite development in multiple sports and runs its own junior golf circuit.