The Sime Darby LPGA Development Programme received a major boost with the confirmation that it will be sponsored for another three years by Yayasan Sime Darby up to 2015. The original purpose of the program was to prepare Malaysia’s best female players for the Local and Regional Qualifiers in which the players would be competing for a spot in the Sime Darby LPGA Tournament
Speaking at the media day of the programme at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, the venue of the programme, which is run in collaboration with the MST GOLF Academy, Robert Bird, the club’s general manager, said Sime Darby extended their support for the programme and that they were “happy with the progress being made”.
The programme, in its third and final year of the initiative taken by Sime Darby and in association with the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia Tournament, has been specifically designed to benefit Malaysia’s top female amateur players.
Sime Darby Berhad chairman Tun Musa Hitam said “it is important that to create such opportunities for young golfers, which will help them develop their game. “This programme provides the perfect platform to nurture local talent with potential and we are pleased to help them move a step closer to achieving their dreams,” he added. MST GOLF marketing director, Paul Gibbons, outlined the mechanics of the programme and added that it runs for three months, leading up to the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.
He noted that this year there were 15 participants enrolled in the programme. The Sime Darby LPGA Development Program was expanded to include the future of women’s golf in Malaysia by inviting more promising young talent to participate. Although some of these young girls did not meet the handicap requirement of index 2.0 or less to compete in the qualifier, they were chosen to participate in the program as it was determined that they have the talent and desire to represent Malaysian Ladies Golf in the future as well as a strong possibility of earning a spot in the Sime Darby LPGA Tournament in the near future.
The Sime Darby LPGA Development Programme is considered the most holistic and structured in the Asia Pacific Region. It comprised of a 50-hour five-day week constitutes the, which is conducted by professional golf instructors, Koe Lai Yin, Travis Van Dijk and Ian Ashenden, and supported by famous guest coaches such as Stewart Ginn and Ian Triggs. The training program revolves around the principles of Physical Fitness, Physiotherapy, Mental Training, Equipment, Diet and Nutrition, Development of the necessary golfing skills, taking effective course notes and developing a strategy for competition.
The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games is one of the targets of the programme and Sime Darby, along with MST GOLF, the Malaysian Golf Association and the Malaysian Ladies Golf Association, are squarely focused on preparing aspiring athletes for the re-admission of golf to the Olympics.
MST Golf Sdn Bhd is the largest retail chain and service provider to the golf industry in South East Asia with 53 stores across 4 markets; Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam, The company tagline is “Everything Golf” covering all aspects of the game; Retail, Wholesale, Academies, Events Management, Corporate Merchandising, Custom Fitting, Golf Vacations and loyalty card program with over 37,000 active members.
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Alan Lee
Marketing Communications
+603 5566 8866
alan_lee@mstgolf.com
