A total of 97 junior golfers will be taking part in the Alpha Malaysian Junior Golf Championship 2023 starting this morning (Saturday) at the Sabah Golf and Country Club (SGCC). The three-day competition is jointly organised by Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (Sportexcel) and locally based Alpha Sports Academy. Alpha Sports Academy co-founder Ali Ariffin, who is also the event manager, said at a press conference held at the club on Friday that the 64 boys and 33 girls come from Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan, Johor, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

According to him, 12 boys and nine girls who have handicap 12 below will compete in the premier division over three days and the overall winners will be recognised by the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), while the two-day junior circuit for ages six to 18-year-old will feature 52 boys and 24 girls. He expressed his gratitude to Sportexcel for giving the opportunity to co-host the tournament and thanked Malaysia Golf Association, Sabah Golf Association, SGCC and all the sponsors for their support.

Meanwhile, Sportexcel’s executive director Sivanandhan Chinnadurai said the foundation has been hosting junior golf tournaments since 1992. Apart from golf, they are involved in nine other sports. Their main focus is on grassroot development and the development of athletes under the elite programme in preparation for them to represent the country and international achievement. He said many athletes who excelled under their programme have also benefited academically with some receiving partial or full scholarships from US colleges. He praised Ali for his efforts to help develop sports in the State by setting up Alpha Sport Academy and said the partnership with them will continue. “It is a very good initiative for a private academy to seek funds to run their own programmes on golf, archery and others. “We will work together with Alpha Sport Academy. One of the reasons is that we have known each other a long time and they have also been involved in other circuits as sponsors. “There is trust between us which is very important in a partnership,” he said.
He also revealed that they may bring the U.S. Kids Golf local tour tournament to Sabah next year.

The tournament which caters for golfers aged 5 to 18 will engage them in competition within their respective divisions, with eight age-group categories for boys and five categories for girls.