Not having a title sponsor didn’t stop the inaugural Albatross Cup from succeeding. It was a ‘family affair’ in a tournament conceived over coffee at a local ‘kopitiam’ chain three months ago.
Malaysia’s No. 1 golfer, Gavin Green, his brother Galven, and parents Gary and Vivienne successfully organised the Albatross Cup with help from the golfing fraternity, who came together as one family.
The tournament referees, other officials, and players received no payment and gave their all to ensure the matchplay event would be long remembered.
“We were having some coffee at a local kopitiam chain when the idea to have a matchplay tournament in Malaysia came about since there isn’t one,” said Gary.
“That was in October, and we weren’t sure if we could pull it off as Gavin was still travelling and playing in tournaments.
“We only returned to Malaysia on Dec 23, but had already approached some people to start the ball rolling.”
Vivienne said that the hardest part was not having any sponsor, but the family decided to go ahead with the tournament after the Malaysian Golf Association and the Professional Golf Association of Malaysia agreed to sanction the first-of-its-kind tournament.
“The host (Seri Selangor Golf Club) also offered the venue for free. The players, officials, and referees also agreed not to be paid. We only spent a small amount on the tournament,” she said.
“We raised some money from the pro-am tournament. Those helping us with the media releases also did so free of charge, as the golfing fraternity came together as one family.”
Gavin, who starts his season on the DP World Tour in Dubai next week, said the tournament gave him the perfect preparation for his challenges this year.
“It was two intense days of golf, and it definitely helped me stay focused on this year’s challenges,” said Gavin.
“It’s amazing that everyone supported an idea we only thought of a couple of months ago. We didn’t expect to get such a great response, especially as all the top Malaysian players were part of the two teams — Team Gavin and Team Danny (Chia).
“We hope this will be the start of an annual event. Who knows, maybe we can get a title sponsor to make this event even better.”
Team Gavin consisted of Green (captain), Jeremiah Kim (vice-captain), Galven Green, Paul San, Sharifuddin Ariffin, Marcus Lim, Nasrullah Zulkifli, Danial Faidz, Casper Loh, Affif Fathi, Jaydon Pang, and Nicholas Fung. Zia Izzuddeen was the reserve, with Keegan Kam, the non-playing vice-captain.
The players on Team Danny were Chia (captain), Khor Kheng Hwai (vice-captain), Ervin Chang, Edven Ying, Syahiran Syakir, Amir Nazrin, Fakhrul Akmal, Malcolm Ting, Nor Heikal Hadi, Daeng Abdul Rahman, Tony Lam, and Kenneth da Silva. Wilson Choo was the reserve, while the non-playing vice-captain was Chong Chee Meng.
The Albatross Cup, which began on Jan 6 and ended on Jan 7, featured five four-ball matches, five foursomes matches, and 12 singles matches, requiring a mix of individual brilliance, strategy, and teamwork.
In the end, Team Gavin emerged victorious with a score of 14-8.
