PGABS plans to build up a golf academy, the power of youth talent development

MIRI, 11 Nov: The Amateur Golf Association of Bumiputera Sarawak (PGABS) is planning to create a driving range next year as a step to strengthen the development of golf talent among young players in the state.

Its president, Irwan Zulkarnain said the facility will be a training platform to expand the root canal development program, thus producing more potential junior players who can compete at state and national level.

According to him, PGABS is currently also providing 50 per cent subsidies for golf tournament participation fees to youth players to encourage them to gain exposure to competitions in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

"This is one way we encourage teenagers to participate in golf tournaments at the level of Sarawak and also Peninsular Malaysia.

"With this academy, we can expand further and increase engagement at the root level of the colony, thereby expanding the junior player pool to be prominent in local competitions as well as selecting youth players for Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA)," he said as he met him at PGABS Grand Finale 2026 at Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club, here today.

In the meantime, he said PGABS membership performance and participation continued to show improvement through Monthly Medal's monthly tournament sponsorship, thus seeing the number of players eligible for this year's Grand Finale increase to 48 participants from 40 previously.

He said the tournament matched senior gross, senior net, open gross and open net categories, with increasingly encouraging participation reflecting increased member interest in golf.

"Overall, player performance among PGABS members is increasing and every year we see more members taking part in monthly tournaments as well as the Grand Finale", he said.

Meanwhile, PGABS also expanded its involvement in the sport of golf internationally through strategic cooperation in hosting the inaugural edition of Sarawak Senior Amateur Golf International at Sarawak Golf Club (KGS), which successfully attracted 156 local and international players.

The tournament also featured players from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam, thereby opening up a space for exchange of experiences and enhancing the competitiveness of local players.

For the PGABS Grand Finale 2026 results, Awang Saini Awang Seraji emerged as the winner of the gross senior category, while Abdul Aziz Kadir won the net senior category.

Mohamad Lokman Mustaffa won the open gross category, while Zaharudin Sabang emerged as the winner of the open net category.