The recent win by golfer Marcus Lim in the Supra Cup represented the first instance that an amateur had won the main prize on the 2023 Toyota Tour. The thrilling climax to the event saw both Lim and rookie Ervin Chang tied for first with seven-under 206s, ahead of overnight leader Ben Leong by one stroke following three rounds of play of The Mines Resort & Golf Club.
At the play-off hole on the dog-legged left par four 18th hole, Lim hit a magnificent approach shot from the right of the fairway, finding the putting surface and with the ball resting 12 feet from the pin. Chang meanwhile, bunkered twice and double bogeyed leaving Lim with three putts for victory. The latter did it on the second putt, thus clinching the Supra Cup following his second-placed finish at the Singapore Amateur Open the week before. Chang, meanwhile, pocketed RM31,500 for the best professional in a field that included Malaysia’s top pro Gavin Green, his brother Galven, veteran Danny Chia, Paul San, Kenneth de Silva, R. Nachimuthu.
The ladies championship feted Aretha Pan who led from round 1, with her Supra Cup victory lifting her winnings on the Toyota Tour to RM52,000 so far. The Supra Cup also represented the first tournament in the Toyota Tour which was overbooked. Among the highlights from the Supra Cup was the hole-in-one by Sukree Othman Day 2 with his five-iron from 207 yards, achieved from a difficult pin position with the green sloping from back to front.
Earlier in the week, Robb Report Malaysia also participated in a pro-am session graced by DYMM Tunku Ampuan Besar Negeri Sembilan Tuanku Aishah Rohani Almarhum Tengku Besar Mahmud. For Robb Report Malaysia’s rep Mark Chew, the experience was both exciting and eye opening, especially in terms of: “seeing how the pros and even the elite juniors execute such graceful and yet powerful swings.”
Jocelyn Chee, 23, who turned pro this year, was the representing professional in the flight with DYMM Tunku Ampuan Besar, YAM Tunku Datin Anne Daklah and Datin Intera Norzie Latif for the Supra Cup pro-am. For her, the Toyota Tour is a nice setup for Malaysian golfers, because the setup allows the budding talents to play at home. “My favourite memory would be winning the Vios Cup Ladies Champion at Templer Park – my first win as a pro as well,” she says. “And to be able to play with our seniors – as a player starting out, it’s great to have someone at their level guiding us. They had to do it the painful way and figure it out on their own, but they are willingly passing it to us – advising us how to start out and plenty of other important advice.”
The Supra Cup, which also saw the sighting of the Toyota GR Supra 3.0 M/T (RM645,000) and several other Toyota Gazoo Racing variants on Robert Trent Jones Jr-designed course at The Mines Resort & Golf Course, is part of the Toyota Tour, the result of a tri-party between Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour as rights holder of the tour with UMW Toyota Motor as naming partner and MST Golf as delivery agency.
One of Toyota’s objectives is to bridge the gap between professional and amateur golf, thus building a stronger connection to help boost the golf industry as well as inspiring the next generation of both male and female golfers. To make this vision a reality Toyota will host events in conjunction with the main tournament such as golf clinics, pro-am sessions, and launching an Elite Junior programme that involves 12 hand-picked juniors from across the country.
The Toyota Tour, which began with a qualifying leg at Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam (KGPA) on 21 February, consists of nine closed tournaments including Sarawak and Sabah, culminating in the RM350,000 Toyota Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on 14 to 17 November, co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour and will offer World Golf Ranking points.
