Leading Golf Publication in the ASEAN Region

Renaissance may not be the best word to describe the Europeans climb to the top of the world’s professional golf rankings in the light of Germany’s Martin Kaymer winning the 2010 US PGA championship last August, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell capturing the US Open crown in June and the rise of England’s Lee Westwood to the world No. 1 position at the end of the year, the word domination is closer to fact.

Domination also applies if we look at the opening months of the current year. Two Europeans made a big move at the World Golf Championship’s Accenture Match Play, in Arizona at the end of February, when England’s Luke Donald won over Kaymer, a finish that propelled Donald to No. 3 and pushed Kaymer one notch above Westwood and he became the 14th man to hold the No. 1 position. As of March 6, 2011 Europeans ranked 1-4 (McDowell is at No. 4), followed by Woods and Mickelson, two more Euros and two Americans to form golf’s top 10. It is the first time since 15 March 1992 that the four top spots have been claimed by Europeans.

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South African Rory Sabbatini held on to post a victory at the US$5.6 million Honda Classic. The 34-year-old’s 64 on Friday broke the course for the Jack Nicklaus designed PGA National’s Champion course in West Palm Beach Gardens in Florida. The 64 came the day after his worst round of the four days, a 71, as he played the weekend with rounds of 66 and 70. He started the final day with a comfortable five shot lead on both Y.E. Yang and Jerry Kelly with each applying pressure on Sunday.

Sabbatini saw his lead shrink to just one stroke after seven holes, when lightning caused a delay. From there he held off the pair, who fired numerous birdies on the closing hole, but a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th helped increase Sabbatini’s lead to two and then pars on the last two holes gave him a 70 for the day for a 9-under 271, one shot better than Yang, and two clear of Jerry Kelly (67), who birdied the last two holes to finish third. The Honda is now his sixth PGA Tour win and it moved him to third in the FedExCup. .

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A Delightful Blend of Nature and Golf

Hidden away in a tree lined residential area in the centre of the Gold Coast, five minutes from the area’s famed surf, as Paul Prendergast discovered, is one of Australia’s most popular and interesting golf courses. Robina Woods does not fit the mould of the majority of courses on the holiday strip, as it offers towering eucalyptus trees, elevation changes and green complexes that contrast with the flatter and more open style of its neighbouring layouts.

Despite a length of only slightly more than 6,000 metres from the tips the par-71 Robina Woods is still regarded as difficult. The greens have large surface areas and are shaped in a manner that numerous pin positions only provide small targets framed by hazards. Thankfully, the region’s natural Bermuda grass allows for these greens to be playable as they would be incredibly difficult if the surfaces were the faster bent grass found in the country’s southern states

While the rough around the greens is not ‘US Open’ high, the Bermuda rough swallows golf balls an occurrence that makes it very tough to get up-and-down.

The course opens with a par-4 that is adjacent to the par-5 No.18 with both holes being framed by …

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Tucked in the middle of the high-end, gated community of Valencia in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, is the 9-hole Valencia golf course, a layout quite ideal for golfers who are looking for a good round of golf in the morning before work or a late afternoon test of nine holes after work.

And, if you think that your leisurely round will be a walk in the park, you are wrong, as from the back tees if played as an 18-hole round you will be asked to hit golf shots over 5,152 metres of grassed terrain that winds through well-placed hazards.

Valencia is only available for its residents but guests of residents are more than welcome to come and play and I recommend if the invitation is extended to you take advantage of it, as you will not be disappointed.

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The rush to the F1 race circuits, the thrill of driving a Porsche car and the knack for good food — meet Dato’ Shukor Mohamed, 63, a courageous, jovial, and enterprising person who is as sharp as a needle and currently one of the most eligible bachelors in Malaysia.

Dato’ Shukor started golfing in his early forties, which he described: “to mug around with his friends,” and within a short competitive year he brought his handicap down from 24 to eight. He stopped golfing for six years after he broke both his legs in a freak accident in 1997 when he was knocked down by a golf cart and ended up having 2kg of metal in his legs.

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Being eight shots behind overnight leader Akhmal Tarmizee Mohd Nazari meant nothing to Kemarol Baharin, as he played a brilliance final round in which he made six birdies for a 6-under 66 to clinch the PGM Kelantan Classic.

Held over at Kelantan Golf & Country Club, in Kota Bharu, Kemarol’s superb charge saw him record birdies at the par-5s No. 3 and No. 11 and at the par-4s of 8, 9, 10 and 16th. His sterling effort was rewarded with a winner’s cheque of RM18,000.

Seasoned campaigner and winner of the Asian Tour’s 2007 Pakistan Open Airil was in position for the win until his lucky took a turn for the worse and he could only manage bogeys at the 17th and 18th hole to finish the day with a 71 that gave him lone-second on 283.

Akhmal came home with another final day 76 and he dropped to a share third place with Solhairi Shariff. S. Sasidaran was fifth a shot behind that pair.

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Final Leaderboard

Kemarol Baharin 73-70-73-66 282

Airil Rizman 69-76-67-71 283

Solhairy Sharif 70-71-74-69 284

Akhmal Tarmizee 70-67-71-76 284

M. Sasidaran 72-70-72-71 285

Nicholas Fung 73-72-71-70 286

Gavin Kyle Green, an 18-year-old from Monterez Golf Club, shot a 6-under 66 on the strength of four birdies and an eagle on the final day for a 54-hole 8-under 208.  Whist, Kenneth De Silva finished second with a 4-over 220, and the second place.

The ladies division was won by Iman Ahmad Nordin, 19, of the Malaysia Golf Association elite squad. She carded 1-over 73 for a three-day total of 213 beating Indonesia’s Jessica Lydia’s score of 8-over 224.

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TaylorMade R11’s new “modern-classical” triangular club head shape presents a more contemporary appearance than traditional drivers. The shape also helps create more inertia and a deeper back center-of-gravity position for greater stability and forgiveness.

This new all-white driver incorporates TaylorMade’s 3D Tuning system, which allows golfers to adjust the loft, face angle and flight path to their individual needs.

Player can create three lofts with the same face angle, or can further accentuate a face angle or counter a negative face angle. It has three dimensions of tuning, ASP, FCT and MWT, to give golfers no fewer than 48 ways to set up the club head and the driver is able to generate 100 yards of side-to-side trajectory adjustment, the most of any driver in existence.

At its launch in Malaysia, TaylorMade hosted a golf tournament for its dealers and business partners at Saujana golf club.

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Malaysia’s top pro golfer Danny Chia helped launch the Callaway RAZR by hitting golf balls.

Golfer Daryl Boswell tells host Will Quah how Callaway RAZR improves his golf game.

Sanjeev Pant (right), Callaway’s managing director of SEA and India with Danny Chia at the presentation of the hot, new RAZR Hawk driver.

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