Fun at 'Craziest 18 Championship'

QUEST FOR GLORY:Players have a blast and go nuts on the green

GOLF was nowhere near mundane as hackers and slicers alike teed-off in Golf Malaysia's "Craziest 18 Championship" game held at the award-winning Kota Permai G&CC in Kota Kemuning last Thursday.

Organised by Golf Malaysia magazine, the exceptional tourney was in its third-year running, with this year's edition witnessing a capacity turnout of 120 amateur golfers consisting of subscribers, business partners, sponsors and special guests as they tried to outdo each other and go crazy on the greens of Kota Permai.

The game certainly lived up to its reputation; all the players went ballistic at the 8am shotgun siren as all 18 holes commenced the game.

Each hole featured two novelty contests for golfers to win great prizes while the normal championship game was played in Stableford format to determine the category winners.

The participants were surprised with the tougher stipulations in this year's game, as they had to put up with various distractions on top of the obstacle challenges which literally brought the "crazy" out from them.

Men and women golfers alike were thoroughly put through their paces in their quest for glory and prizes, as many found the obstacle challenges held at each of the holes uniquely challenging and fun.

"We want golfers to not only enjoy their game, but to have a blast and go nuts on the green.

"We want the brave and crazy to let their hair down on the course and to make this competition an unforgettable one for all.

"We want the golfers to talk about this game for a long time, hence we would want to make the "Craziest 18" golf competition a marquee event in our annual golf calendar," said Andrew Ng, Business Development Manager of Golf Malaysia.

In the novelty category, some outstanding results were produced by sporting golfers with a knack for the insane.

Datuk Shamsuar (22) emerged victorious as he secured a distance of 0.5m in the "Nearest To Hazard - Left" challenge while standing on a tyre at the Firefly sponsored hole-15.

Loh Kok Leong (18) balanced himself perfectly on the tyre to win the "Nearest To Bunker" challenge with a distance of 2.1m at the same hole.

In the "Sure-to-Win" category, Chew Kek Kuen (11) spun his way into securing 5.45m at the "Titoni Rock Around The Clock" Hole-in-One/Nearest to Pin challenge.

His dizzying effort won him a Titoni watch worth RM2,000 at the par-3 Hole-4. Gan Zi Hui (24) fought off motion sickness to hit a magnificent 0.72m

"Nearest to Right Bunker" at the same hole as well, winning a golf bag travel cover sponsored by RGT Technologies Sdn. Bhd.

Pro-beaters Gilbert Low (14), Anuar Harun (16) and Bong Der Liang gave Taylormade Pro Johan Bakar a run for his money as they matched shot-for-shot victories against the pro at Hole-6. Their efforts won them a TaylorMade SpiderGhost putter and ZTP Wedges.

At the Carlsberg-sponsored Hole 9, avid golfer Brian Goh won the "Nearest to Barrel" challenge with a distance of 0.22m from the barrel.

The ladies were not to be outdone, as Deborah Wong (11) shot 8.8m enroute to winning the "Nearest to Crown" challenge at the MST Golf sponsored Hole 10.

Her valiant effort won her a OC Golf bag, while fellow hacker Foo Kooi Phin (10) secured an amazing 2.6m in the "Nearest to Golf Bag" challenge at the same hole as well. He, too, went home happy with a OC Golf bag.

This year's game also saw Zainoldin Ahmad (13) being welcomed into Golf Malaysia's Eagles Club as he secured the only "Eagle" of the day at par-3 7th  hole.

The biggest winner of the day was Datuk Azhar Abdul Rahman, who came in 18th overall with his gross score of 87. His effort saw him going home with a brand new set of Wilson Staff irons.

The men's Division A category saw Shaifuddin Adbul Rahman (8) emerging as the winner  by posting 42 Stableford points, while Loh Kok Leong (18) ruled the Division B Category with 40 Stableford points.

Kalai Kumar Ramasamy (22) secured his win in the Division C category with 40 Stableford points, while Winnie Yap (23) emerged victorious in the Ladies' category with 36 Stableford points.

All the winners at the award-winning Kota Permai G&CC in Kota Kemuning last Thursday.

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