Sime Darby LPGA Development Programme Bears Fruit for Future Of Malaysian Golf

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Kuala Lumpur, 7 August 2014 - The future of golf in Malaysia is bright if the results of one of Asia's leading talent development programmes are anything to go by. For the fifth consecutive year, the Sime Darby LPGA Development Programme is providing 16 of Malaysia's best young female golfers with an opportunity to fulfill their potential and at the same time achieve their dreams of competing on the international professional stage.

Established in 2010, the Sime Darby LPGA Development Programme is the most advanced development programme ever undertaken for ladies golf in the region. Now in its fifth year, and after seeing some 54 players benefit from its holistic approach to professional golf coaching, the programme is starting to bear fruit.

The 2014 edition of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia will feature six Malaysians, dubbed the Malaysian Angels, five of whom are graduates of the tournament's elite junior development programme, subject to their meeting R&A approved qualification criteria.

As Paul Gibbons, Executive Director at MST Golf commented, MST Golf is proud to be associated with Sime Darby in helping to structure and deliver the same Sime Darby LPGA Development Programme for aspiring Malaysian female golfers. This holistic programme covers all key aspects of nurturing champion golfers to play at their full potential.

In 2010 when we started this programme, Malaysia had one female golfer playing on a professional golf tour. We now have six professionals playing on different tours such as LPGA, CLPGA, LET, LAGT, and Symetra Tour; six of the amateurs have been drafted into the National Elite team; and 13 graduates from the programme have secured scholarships from both local and international golf and sports colleges, continued Gibbons.

Utilising a combination of both on and off course training with some of the worlds respected coaches, the programme is aimed at providing participants with the psychological, physiological, and technical expertise required to compete at the highest level. Classroom sessions cover topics such as movement preparation, ball flight laws, diet and nutrition, mental game skills, club fitting, and gap analysis, while the intensive golf practice sessions focus on improving ?students' short game, putting, difficult lies, and advanced shot-making.

A regular figure on the programme's 10-week schedule is the internationally-renowned Australian coach Ian Triggs, mentor to 2014 Women's British Open, Mo Martin, former World Number One Karrie Webb, US Open Winners Eun Hee Ji and So Yeon Ryu, and Malaysia's LPGA Tour Pro Kelly Tan amongst many others.

There is undoubtedly a far greater depth of talent and quality in the women's game in Malaysia now than when we started and that is largely as a result of this programme. Successful development programmes require a long term vision, combined with the investment and resources to carry it through and it is credit to Sime Darby that after five years, this programme is now starting to show some real results, Triggs said.

The 2014 programme, which sees many students living away from home for the first time, provides participants between the age of 12 and 23 with 10 weeks of intensive on and off course tuition, as well as teaching participants to ne independaent, tolerant, and disciplined. In addition to two returning Malaysian Angles Michelle Kh and Aretha Pan, new participants on the course this year include Allycia Ganm Jacqueline Nickels, and Ginnie Ho.