TOURNAMENT REPORT

Round 4 @ Shan Shui GCC

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PRESS RELEASE

FIRST WOMAN TO QUALIFY FOR THE GRAND FINALS

TAWAU, Sabah – Catherine Thasicius became the first woman to qualify for the grand finals of the Prudential Astro Masters 2009 when she won the nett title in the 7th round at the Shan Shui GCC here last Saturday.

Catherine, a 34 handicapper, finished with a four-under 68 to book her place in the final that is scheduled to take place at Hainan Island, China from Oct 9-12. She is joined by gross champion Joseph Tabad Angin who carded a 78.

Both players, members of Shan Shui GCC will compete against the winners of the other 20 rounds at the Meishi Mayflower and West Coast golf courses in Hainan. The package includes three nights accommodation, meals, return flight on AirAsia and internal transfers.

The tournament saw 127 participants tee up on a course rated as the Most Beautiful in Asia when it opened 13 years ago. However, most golfers found the tough pin placements and greens that read 9.5 on the stimpmeter a little too much to bear.

“Yes it was tough but fair,” said Peter Tan who flew all the way from Kota Kinabalu to compete. The eight-handicapper played one under to score 37 stableford points, finishing third in the ‘A’ Medal. He took home an LG 7” portable DVD player.

Yoshar Mousrizal of Shan Shui won the ‘A’ Medal by shooting 39 points. He won a Home Theatre system. Runner-up was Ahmad Hj Budin one point adrift.

Mustafa Mappalanpang won the ‘B’ Medal and a Home Theatre when he finished with 37 points. The 14-handicapper finished two points ahead of Kadir Ali and Soon Yaw Keong.

Jimmy Lucas won the ‘C’ Medal and a 21” flat television when he scored 35 points. Second was Mohamad Noor Lajim while Alan Tham Kim Man came in third.

The big winner of the day was Awang Fauzi who won the 42” LCD television when his tee-shot on the Par 3 fifth hole ended up just 92cm from the cup. Mapan Yuki, Datin Adda Pang and Safaruddin Abidin won the Nearest-the-Line, Nearest-the-Pin and Longest drive respectively.

Shan Shui general Manager Mr Henry Ng gave away all the prizes.

The Prudential Astro Masters is Malaysia’s biggest tournament that attracts almost 3,000 participants annually. It is open to Astro subscribers and their guests who pay RM218 and RM318 respectively.

Sponsors of the tournament are Prudential, AmBank, LG, Bridgestone, Crest Link, Pharmaton, Heineken, Delsey, Alain Delon, Fred Lenzo, Maxis, AXN, TVB, TopGear Magazine, GOLF Magazine, SunPlay, Fresh & White, Rexona, Gatorade Tiger, Cinta Sayang Resort, Clear, TOP, Shokubutsu and Golf Channel.

For more information contact the event organizers at 03-78036226.

Results: Gross – Joseph Tabad Angin 78. Nett – Catherine Thasicius. ‘A’ Medal – 1. Yoshar Mousrizal 39 pts; 2. Ahmad Hj Budin 38 pts; 3. Peter Tan 37 pts. ‘B’ Medal – 1. Mustafah Mappalanpang 37 pts; 2. Kadir Ali 35 pts ocb; 3. Soon Yaw Leong 35 pts. ‘C’ Medal – 1. Jimmy Lucas 35 pts; 2. Mohd Noor Lajim 34 pts; 3. Alan Tham Kim Man 32 pts.

NTL – Mapan Yuki (1 metre); NTP – Datin Adda Pang (0.52m); Longest Drive – Safaruddin Abidin (284m).