The Star

INTERNATIONAL Akmal Tarmizee Mohd Nazari, who had a poor outing in the Maybank-Malaysian Open, was in his element in the Berjaya-Sompo Kuala Lumpur Amateur Open golf championship at the Bukit Jalil Golf and Country Club (BJGCC) recently.

In the Malaysian Open, for the third consecutive season, Akmal Tarmizee failed to get beyond the halfway mark. Of course the Kuala Lumpur Amateur is not in the same class as the Malaysian Open but Akmal Tarmizee was happy with his game.

The 19-year-old Akmal Tarmizee, who hails from Negri Sembilan, shot a four under 68 on the final day for a three-day score of 16 under 200 to win the title by a massive 12 strokes.

“I played extremely well in all three days. I was confident as I had nine stroke advantage after the second round. I was able to play my normal game as I was not under any pressure.

“This is my first amateur competition for the year and I hope to do well in the other competitions as well,’’ said Akmal Tamizee after receiving the challenge trophy from Malaysia Golf Associa-tion (MGA) vice-president Mohd Yaacob Mohd Kassim.

Singapore’s Joshua Shou was second on 212 while his teammate Gregory Foo was third (215). In the Nett category, Kelab Darul Ehsan’s Zen Dharmaratne was the winner with a score of 209 followed by Kota Permai Golf and Country Club’s Lim Chee Heong (211) and Danau UKM’s Nasaruddin Mohamed (213).

The BJGCC general manager Mohd Azmir Abdul Rahim said they were happy to host the championship and would be glad to be part of the championship again next year.

“It was an interesting tournament and our players had gained a lot of exposure,’’ added Mohd Azmir.

Mohd Yaacob said the MGA, pleased with BJGCC’s hospitality, had given a RM5,000 grant to the club.

“We would also like to express our appreciation to the sponsors for making the championship a big success,’’ said Mohd Yaacob.

The sponsors were Berjaya Sompo, Jebsen & Jessen Techno-logy, Carlsberg, Watatime Marketing, Rohto-Mentholatum, Fengxin Hardware, Berjaya Air, Berjaya Vacation Club, 7-Eleven, Total Recharge, Par Golf, Golf Malaysia and Sports Toto.