My week with the Pros

During the recent PGM MNRB Sarawak Championship held at the KGS, I was lucky enough to hang out with 2 pros from the Asian Development Tour. I owe my mate, Chris a big thank you for making it all happen.

I met Chris during the 2014 CIMB Classic. He was working with the PGA during the tournament and was taking care of the players and caddies behind the ropes and was stationed outside the scoring centre at the time. 

There I was, waiting to meet the pros and score some autographs and he must have thought I was crazy at first waiting under the hot sun, but he was really friendly and we had a good chat over the few days and the rest as they say is history. 

Chris currently caddies for ADT Pro Nick Pugh and is a social media consultant when he's off the golf course. Which brings me back to the PGM MNRB.

Catching up with Chris earlier this year during the Maybank Open.

Earlier this year we caught up during the Maybank Malaysian Open (above) and Chris mentioned that he would be heading over to Kuching with Nick for the PGM event. Needless to say I was looking forward to hanging out with Chris again and getting to meet Nick (who I have followed on social media).

So the guys arrived the Sunday before the tournament and I met up with them at the KGS driving range after their practice round on Monday.

Nick getting in some range time

Nick was such a nice guy. Really friendly and approachable right from our first handshake. He was humble too and had a great sense of humour. Oh, and it was very cool being able to watch Nick practice up close.  

As it turned out, Nick and Chris were staying with another ADT pro, American golfer, Greg Moss. So that Monday evening, I was taking the boys out to dinner and got Chris to invite Greg along and that's how I met Greg and ended up hanging out with 2 pros!

Now when it came to food, these guys were great! They loved the local fare (except Chris, but he tried haha) 

Brought the guys for some seafood at No.25, Top Spot which was a great choice. Quality food with plenty of laughter. 

With Nick's 'gentleman' ball. Moustache was faded after day 1.

Unfortunately, Nick didn't make the cut after round 2 and both Chris and him left that Thursday night, not before we had another dinner together. This time at the Carvery where I would witness Greg's eating prowess! Unknown to me, Greg use to be a competitive eater back in the states.

But before leaving, Chris and Nick left me with some very nice gifts. A box of brand new Taylormade Tour Preferred X balls (which I had won from Nick's sponsor, Hole in one golf's facebook contest) a Taylormade cap and a player's towel from Nick. Be sure to check out their facebook page and stand a chance to win great prizes!

Thanks Nick, Chris and Hole in One Golf!

How sweet is that?

Greg had made the cut and was going to be playing the weekend rounds so we got to hang out more. More food and Good times!

Awesome Pork Knuckle at Pinoy Ihaw Ihaw. One of 5 dishes we had. 

I should also mention that Greg is currently 4th on the Order of Merit, thanks to a tied-second place finish in Chinese Taipei two months ago (which included a stunning second round score of 62!)

Day 4 took place on a Saturday, so it gave me a chance to watch more of the action. Needless to say I was following Greg's flight and did I mention the guy (who plays lefty) can hit it milessssss? Seeing it on the telly is one thing, but seeing it up close live? completely different story altogether. I play on the Matang - Santubong 18 from time to time and my word, he was driving it (from the tips mind you) to spots where I had never imagined were possible. As they say, these guys are good.

Apart from watching the action up close, it was the level of interaction and the small things during the round that really stood out for me. In between shots, we would chat and I would give him a fist bump after a good putt for instance. May seem trivial to some, but if you are a golf fan like me, you know stuff like this don't happen everyday so it's pretty cool.

Greg eventually completed his 4th round with a nice 71 to finish 38th on the leader board.

After the round, it was time for a lunch of roast pork at the BBQ specialist before Greg's flight to KL.  

Dropping off Greg at the airport. All the best mate!

I was a little hesitant at first but Greg was very obliging when I asked for an autograph for my growing collection. You are a legend mate!

Time flew by rather quickly that week and I was a little bummed that the PGM MNRB was all over. 

But as they say all good things come to an end and it was fantastic getting to hang out with my mate Chris and two new friends, top blokes in Nick and Greg. Catch you guys again soon!

With the Gawai break coming, it's time for the Kakigolf crew to embark on our annual golfing excursion. This year, we visit Bandung, Indonesia! 

Flight leaves at 7.15am so I really should be catching some shut eye. Super excited. Hope you guys and gals have a good break! Happy Gawai to those celebrating and stay safe! 

PGM MNRB Sarawak Championship @ Kelab Golf Sarawak

At the rate I am posting about tournaments, I would make a sucky golf reporter. So apologies for the lack of 'up-to-date' reports. Perhaps I should just update my Twitter feed in future. 

Anyway, if you haven't heard, the PGM MNRB Sarawak Championship came to a close on Saturday and what a finish it was. 

For starters, let me just say how impressed I was with the course conditions (particularly the greens) at KGS. The Matang - Santubong greens were in superb conditions. Green and quick!

Good enough to rival premium courses in KL? You bet.

Janne Kaske, carded a superb 65 (-14 total) on the final day to storm to overtake the leaders and clinch his first professional victory. For his efforts, he took home the 1st prize of RM35,000.00 and now sits in 3rd spot on the ADT Order of Merit.

Back at the clubhouse, it looked like things were headed for a playoff with the leaders tied at 8 under through the 15th. But it was to be Janne's day and he certainly won in style.

Here's a look at his round 4 scorecard. Except for the lone bogey on the front 9, Janne raced to the finish with 8 birdies to win by 4 strokes. Congratulations Janne!

That's alot of red. 

I was following Greg Moss's flight (Get to know more about Greg who is currently 7th on the ADT order of merit, here.), who was playing with Thai player Poom Saksansin and Malaysian golfer Lam Yu Shuen. 

It's great seeing the pros in action. Watching them drive the ball for miles, hit their irons with precision and go pin hunting was very inspiring. 

The cherry on the top? Being able to interact with the pros during the round. You definitely won't get that watching the telly.

It's been a great week of golf at the KGS, but my highlight of the week? getting to hang out with Pros Nick Pugh, Greg Moss and my mate Chris who was caddying for Nick off the course. Had a great time, but more on that next time!

In the meantime, the ADT now moves on to Taiwan for the Ambassador ADT at the Hsin Feng golf and country club. 

Day 2 : PGM MNRB Sarawak Championship @ Kelab Golf Sarawak

It's day 2 of the PGM MNRB Sarawak Championship and there's plenty more golf to play. Scoreboards are being updated here.

So far Day 1 co-leader, Malaysia Pro Airil Rizman Zahari has the clubhouse lead of 8 under after carding a fine 69 (5 birdies against 2 bogies) to extend his lead. While defending champion Pavit Tangkamolprasert couldn't follow his 69 on day 1 and ended day 2 with a 73. Still at 2 under so he should still be in the hunt entering day 3.

Nice to see a Malaysian atop the leader board but I am also cheering for ADT Pros, Nick Pugh (+3 after day 1) and Greg Moss (even par after day 1) who are still out on the course. The latter of whom is currently 4th on the ADT order of merit.

The cut line looks to be anywhere between +1 - +3 at the moment so let's see what the afternoon brings.

Bushnell Neo XS GPS watch unboxing and introduction.

I will be posting about the Bushnell Neo XS GPS watch in three posts. 

1. The unboxing

2. On course review

3. Comparison with the Voice Caddie T1 Hybrid GPS watch.

Let's get started!

So why did I get another GPS watch? 

If you have been following the blog you would have come across this post about the Voice Caddie T1 Hybrid watch and since then I have had several rounds with it and I can honestly say that even though it serves it's purpose, I am not entirely satisfied by it.

So, apart from the fact that I am a gadget junkie, I decided to check out other options. 

Step in, the Bushnell Neo XS GPS watch. Bushnell has a market leader in sport optics equipment and have been around for years. Full range of their products here. Known for it's high quality products, reliability and accuracy, Bushnell have also ventured into the Golf arena with their laser range finders and GPS watches.

So this is what you get out of the box.

The watch (which is also available in charcoal and black).

Inside the box are the manuals and charging cable. I checked online and it seems I was missing a brush (to brush the charging connector points) but no issue.

Don't mind the blur face. It's just a sticker which I didn't peel after switching the watch on. First impressions were good and the design, very appealing. But more on that to come.

In the meantime, the PGM MNRB Sarawak Championship begins on Wednesday (13th May) at the Kelab Golf Sarawak and will see a healthy field of 112 players from the Asian Development Tour, our Malaysian tour and even a few fellow Kuching amateurs competing in the RM200,000.00 event. 

It's not everyday we get quality tournaments in town so I am excited am hoping to catch at least some of the action this week.

Met up with my friend Chris who's caddying for ADT Pro Nick Pugh and caught him in action on the range. It's always cool getting to see the pros in action, so if you happen to be in Kuching, make your way to KGS in the next few days.

Taking care of business

I have stopped subscribing to the Golf Channel (no thanks to you Astro!) and so have to rely on golf channel app. on my phone for updates on results etc.

Just days after being voted "most overrated player" Rickie Fowler took care of business and won The Players Championship, his 2nd PGA tournament after a playoff with Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner. The way he got into the playoff though, is what will stand out for years to come. 

Rickie was 1 over on his round and five shots back through 12 holes. He played the last 6 holes (13 - 18) 6 under, including an eagle on the Par 5 16th. 

He then birdied No. 17 (the iconic island green) again in the playoff – twice. 

For a player that enjoys such popularity with players and fans alike, I found it odd that he tied with Ian Poulter for the title of "most over rated player" in a recent anonymous poll. I don't care for anonymous polls (namely because there are no parameters spelt out, so the integrity of the poll comes into question) and I thought Rickie enjoyed a great year in 2014. No wins, but 4 top 5's in all the majors certainly has to count for something.

This was a huge victory ($1.8 mil paycheck ain't too shabby either) referred to as the unofficial 5th major so I am hoping this will spur him on to greater things.  

Overrated? I think not. And that's how you take care of business.

In other news, I have 'invested' in yet another golf GPS watch. The Bushnell Neo XS. More on that next.

What's been going on

So the long Labour-Wesak day weekend has come and gone and it's been pretty off the golf course. For starters, we adopted a new puppy (we named him Mylo) and we have all been rather busy getting to know him, making sure he settles in alright and yesterday, we 'enlarged' his compound with those customizable doggy play pens. Charming addition to the family and I am thankful Oreo (our older doggy) has been very accepting.

That said, I was lucky enough to squeeze in two sessions on the course. The game is still a work in progress (when isn't it!?) and I am hoping to sharpen it as May goes by when we set off for our annual golf trip. This time, the lads and I are heading to Indonesia where we will take on the lovely courses in Bandung and the last thing I want to do is play horribly on a beautiful course haha.

Then there was the WGC world match play which left several people unhappy about the latest format. But lo and behold, he might have given up his seats to catch the Pacquiao - Mayweather fight, but current World No.1 Rory McIlroy was the last man standing at the WGC match play after dispatching fellow long hitter, Gary Woodland. Next it's off to the Players, where a star studded field awaits. 

In the meantime, I will leave you with this gem of a clip:

I am not sure what happened, but it certainly spices up match play and what was the official doing just standing there.