Choo Tze Huang and Quincy Quek alongside ASEAN stars from the PGM Maybank ADT Championship score qualifying slots at upcoming Maybank Championship
KUALA LUMPUR – 30 NOVEMBER 2019: Flying Singapore’s flag high and proud, duo Choo Tze Huang and Quincy Quek were today handed coveted golden tickets into the upcoming Maybank Championship after they emerged as the top five performing ASEAN players at the PGM Maybank ADT Championship today.
This year marked the first time that the PGM Maybank ADT Championship, co-sanctioned by the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour and the Asian Development Tour (ADT), served as the qualifying event for the ASEAN category spots for the lucrative Maybank Championship. The deserving players were offered coveted spots at the Asian Tour and European Tour co-sanctioned tournament after finishing as the top five ASEAN players as well as the winner at the PGM Maybank ADT Championship, held from 27 to 30 November 2019.
Rounding up the ASEAN qualifying group are Thailand’s Nirun Sae-Ueng, the outright winner of the tournament, Atiruj Winaicharoenchai and Suttijet Kooratanapisan who are also from Thailand, and Indonesia’s George Gandranata.
A delighted Choo said: “This will be my first time qualifying. I'm really looking forward to it. I've changed a lot of my preparation in terms of my game all around, and I'm going to keep doing the same thing as I'm seeing some good results. I’m aiming to get better every day for Maybank Championship. Hopefully end with a good top 20 finish.”
“I'm quite happy I made the cut. When I came up here to play two years ago, I hadn't played Saujana in 8 or 9 years. So, this time around, I'm slowly figuring out the course,” said Quek. “Hopefully next year I'll be in the mix for the prize purse. There are not too many USD3 million-dollar events that come your way.”
With a US$3 million purse, the Maybank Championship is now the biggest and most lucrative golf tournament in ASEAN, whose past winners include Australians Marcus Fraser (2016) and Scott Hend (2019), Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti (2017) and Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Shubhankar Sharma (2018).
The ASEAN category, introduced in 2017 as part of Maybank’s initiatives and efforts to elevate regional talent, provides a platform for the players to take their game to a new level, whilst giving them a chance to pit their skills against some of the world’s best.
“We want to make the ASEAN dream a reality, both on and off the fairways. By reserving five slots at the upcoming Maybank Championship for the top regional golfers, we not only recognise deserving talent, but also encourage a thriving and competitive ASEAN golfing landscape that we hope will grow into a global stage.” said Datuk Abdul Farid Alias, Group President and CEO of Maybank.
“We also want to recognise the winner and top performers of the PGM Maybank ADT Championship and provide them the platform to accelerate to the next level in their careers,” added Datuk Abdul Farid.
Asian Tour Chief Executive Officer and Commissioner Cho Minn Thant applauded Maybank’s continued support of the development of golf in the region.
“I would like to thank Maybank for their unwavering support in growing the game of golf in the region – not only this season, but over the years," he said. “The ADT itself has proven to be a great platform for budding golfers to hone their skills and work their way onto the Asian Tour proper, and now the Maybank Championship which is co-sanctioned with the European Tour.
“The PGM Maybank ADT Championship is a great occasion for ASEAN players and all the other ADT hopefuls to try and compete in the Maybank Championship, which is one of the most celebrated events on the Asian Tour,” added Cho.
He said that players who had previously competed in the Maybank Championship under the ASEAN umbrella proved to be no pushovers. Indeed, Angelo Que of the Philippines and Indonesia's Danny Masrin did a good job to impress earlier this year. They were tied-25th and joint-36th respectively in the tournament last March.