A total of 66 of the best young players from six countries including South Korea will compete at The Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) here, early next week.

Those who also represent Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia will compete for the title at the 10th RSGC-SportExcel Junior Invitational Golf Championship (JIGC) from May 20 to 22.

Malaysia will be represented by 33 players while Indonesia will be reinforced by 11 players, in addition to Singapore (nine), South Korea (eight), Japan (four) and Taiwan (one).

This tournament is jointly organised by RSGC and the Malaysian Sports Excellence Foundation (SportExcel) and is supported by the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA).

It is specifically for young players aged 18 and under, involving four categories, namely boys and girls (16-18 years old) and boys and girls (15 years old and under).

Organising chairman, Khor Yew Teik said that at this tournament, Malaysia sent the best players representing the club and state levels, as well as elite SportExcel athletes and those who had competed in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) competition.

He said that Malaysian players who managed to achieve the best position in all categories would be selected to represent the country to compete in the Southeast Asian competition with funding fully covered by the tournament organisers.

"Interestingly, for this tournament, the points earned by players will also be included in the WAGR," he said at a press conference at the RSGC here.

For the ninth edition last year, the boys' and girls' categories (16-18 years) were won by Jonathan Manuel Wijanto from Indonesia and Ngo Yi Belle (Malaysia) respectively.

Apart from Malaysia, the players participating are from Australia, Britain, Indonesia, South Korea and India.

Yew Teik said that this year's event not only made history but also reflected his team's extraordinary journey in building an international-class platform for young talent.

He said that this year is an important achievement for the organisers because the prestigious tournament has been organized for a decade.

"What started as a grassroots initiative has now grown into one of the most respected youth invitational tournaments in the region," he said. — GenGolf