Fernando conquers Malaysian Amateur Open golfest

Filipino Mhark Fernando closed out the 108th Malaysian Amateur Open Golf Championship with an even par 72, which was enough to crown himself the champion of this event held at the Damai Laut Golf & Country Club in Perak, Malaysia. Fernando, leader from start to finish, managed to produce three birdies at the 6,600-meter, par-72 layout to wind up with a six-under-par 282 overall. He was two shots ahead of Malaysian national player Mohd Iylia Jamil’s 284 total. Iylia, who started the day trailing by a shot, overtook the leader by two strokes when he birdied the 140-meter, par-three, 13th hole, which Fernando bogeyed. However, it was all too brief as the 20-year-old double-bogeyed the 14th hole to surrender the lead. “The 14th is the key to my win as I hit an awesome second shot and I knew I had it then," Fernando said. Filipino Jhonnel Ababa finished with a share of third place with Thailand’s Supakorn Utaipat on four-over-par 292. Another national player, Gavin Kyle Green (76) ended up tied with Filipino Peter Villaber (77) in sixth place on five-over-par 293. - RCJ/Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV