CJMY
When Malaysia plays host to the World Amateur Golfers Championship (WAGC) Final from 12-19 November 2022, it will bring one of the world’s most prestigious amateur golf tournaments to our shores.
The WAGC is steeped in history, having been recognized globally as the foremost amateur golfing event in the world with the participation of 45 countries.
The world’s largest amateur golf championship has been led by golfing luminaries such as Arnold Palmer, Annika Sörenstam and Seve Ballesteros, to name a few.
The eagerly contested championship was founded in 1995 by Sven Tumba, one of the most prominent sports icons, having represented Sweden in ice hockey, football, and golf.
Seven-time Major winner Palmer was a keen supporter of the championship, having served as the tournament patron for over a decade.
Sörenstam, regarded as one of the best female golfers of all time, took over as chairman of the Advisory Board after the passing of the Spanish great Ballesteros.
By offering an opportunity to amateur golfers to represent their countries, the WAGC has been successfully staged for a quarter of a century. Its first final was staged in Florida.
Since its inception, WAGC has been held in the United States, Europe and South Africa. Befitting its stature, the world finals were held at high-end resorts and played at some of the best courses in the world.
Malaysia played host to this tournament in 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, 2018 in Johor Bahru, and 2019 in Sabah. When the World Final is held in Kuala Lumpur from 12-19 November, Malaysia will welcome 500 top amateur golfers to compete for the title.
Delta World Sdn Bhd is the event promoter and management company for WAGC. It undertakes the overall operations of the WAGC World Final.
“We started in 2012 as Perodua World Amateur Golf Championship,” said WAGC President Isac Saminathan. “Golfers referred to this as the Perodua Event. With this popularity of referring to this tournament as a Perodua event, we initiated this as a Golf Series.
“We saw this as a golden opportunity for all golfers to up their game and bring it to a different level. With this in mind, we created Perodua National Amateur Golf Series, PNAGS, as it is now fondly called.
“It is a platform for all golfers, no matter what handicap they play, they have the chance to compete with their fellow golfers with equal skill levels to represent their states.”
As the marketing arm for the country in promoting tourism, Tourism Malaysia is positive that this prestigious event will contribute to garnering more inbound tourists. Malaysia currently targets to welcome 9.2 million international tourist arrivals with RM 26.8 billion in tourism receipts for this year.
“We would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to WAGC for entrusting Malaysia again to host the world final, as we will be welcoming international amateur golfers for their final battle in Malaysia,” said Tourism Malaysia’s Senior Director of International Promotion (Asia/ Africa) Division, Manoharan Periasamy.
After an absence of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the stage is set for a much-anticipated WAGC Final to be played over top golf courses in the Klang Valley, namely the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, Glenmarie Golf and Country Club, Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, and Kelab Rahman Putra Malaysia.
The golfers will be staying at the One World Hotel in Petaling Jaya, and they will get to visit several tourist sites as part of the itinerary.
An evening is planned at the Lakeside of Putrajaya and a day trip to Malacca for non-golfers accompanying the finalists.
The celebrities who will attend the World Final are Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and former Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek. The Polish footballer also played for Real Madrid.
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