Ruhaizad Hashim won the seventh leg of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Development Qualifying School Circuit at Port Dickson Golf & Country Club today, carving out a comfortable three-stroke victory.
The 40-year-old professional, who joined the paid ranks in 2006 and had a five-shot overnight advantage, stumbled to a third and final round 77 today, but still won with his four-over 217 total.
Amateur player Izzat Safuan shot the low round of the day, carding a two-under 70 that took him to 220 and second place. He was another two shots ahead of Dragon Chai (76) and four in front of Mokhtar Alwi (73) – both amateurs who showed much promise in tough conditions.
Marcus Kok Lizhe, yet another amateur to make his presence felt after sharing the first round lead, signed for an 82 and was fifth on 227.
Happy with his win, which came after missing out for almost two years from the Tour up to 2013 and then hampered by a leg injury that has since been overcome, Ruhaizad said: “It is always nice to win”.
“I came into this event to try and do that, and now that I managed it, I am very happy and hope to do better in the second half of the year.”
The Johor Bahru pro added that he would now concentrate on playing the PGM Tour proper and hoped to make an impression despite the competitiveness on it.
“My best finish on the PGM Tour was a sixth-place at Lanjut and I know it is tough to win on the local circuit because there are many good players. But I will do my best and hopefully I can get better.”
Speaking of his performance here at Port Dickson, Ruhaizad said he felt good all week and added the course was in good shape, despite it “playing tough with its narrow fairways”.
The next PGM Development Qualifying School Circuit event is the eighth leg at Impian Golf & Country Club in Kajang, Selangor from June 16-18. Meanwhile, the next PGM Tour event is the Port Dickson Championship, co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour, scheduled to start at Port Dickson Golf & Country Club tomorrow.
Leading Third Round Scores
217 Ruhaizad Hashim 72-68-77
220 Izzat Safuan (A) 73-77-70
222 Dragon Chai (A) 73-73-76
224 Mokhtar Alwi (A) 75-76-73
227 Marcus Kok Lizhe (A) 72-73-82
228 Basrah Alias 78-69-81
229 Khidir Md Azmi (A) 74-82-73, Riduan Harisa 75-77-77, Azlan Meri (A) 75-75-79
230 S.Sanderan 79-74-77, Ariffin Hj Omar 77-76-77, Faizal Zainal (A) 74-79-77
232 Mat Sihat (A) 74-78-80, Alun Satria Hashim (A) 75-76-81
234 M. Faizal M. Razali 80-79-75, Sumbarito (A) 77-79-78, Shahrizan Mansor (A) 77-75-82
