ASEAN golf
\ntournament
\nbegins on
\nBSD course<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Junior golfers from six countries in the South East Asian
\nregion are set to take part in the 10th Junior ASEAN Golf
\nChampionship which begins on Tuesday at the Damai Indah Golf
\nCourse, Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) in Tangerang.<\/p>\n
The six-day championship, officially opened by Jakarta
\nGovernor Sutiyoso on Monday afternoon, features 121 players from
\nMalaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
As the host, Indonesia is competing with the bulk of the
\nparticipants. Malaysia has come with the most players among the
\nvisiting teams with seven followed by Thailand (five), the
\nPhilippines (three), Singapore (two) and Vietnam (one).<\/p>\n
The tournament, which is being held to coincide with Jakarta's
\n477th anniversary, will have four age categories for boys and
\ngirls: class A (age 15-17), class B (age 13-14), class C (age 11-
\n12) and class D (age 10 and below).<\/p>\n
The boys class A and B plays 72 holes of stroke-play while the
\nboys C and D and the girls will play 54 holes.<\/p>\n
Trophies from the governor and the golf course are up for
\ngrabs.<\/p>\n
Among the participants is last year's champion Abhinawa Sahari
\nof Indonesia. The 14-year-old is competing in the boys' class A
\ndivision.<\/p>\n
\"I hope I can win the trophy back this year and I will still
\nbe using the same strategy like last year's although the weather
\nis a bit unpredictable lately,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Golf Association (PGI) Haryanto
\nDhanutirto said that the event was also part of PGI's yearly
\nprogram to promote youth golf.<\/p>\n
\"There are around only 500 young golfers in Jakarta and we
\nhave 35 golf courses in Jakarta. We have to come up with programs
\nto improve these young golfers' skill and ability so they can
\ncompete internationally in the future,\" Haryanto told reporters
\nduring a press conference.<\/p>\n
He added that currently most Indonesian professional golfers
\nwere originally working as caddies before they became players.<\/p>\n
\"None of them has come from the golf youth system. Famous
\ninternational golfer Tiger Woods started to play when he was six
\nor seven years old, therefore, we have to get junior golfers
\nstarting around that age as well,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Haryanto, competitions such as the ASEAN Junior
\nChampionships are important for young golfers to gauge their
\nabilities against other foreign golfers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-golf-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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