Malaysia, Truly Asia!

Written: July 3, 2011         

   Just another adventure in the golfing life, living the dream.  This time, I set off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday, July 2^nd.  Took the Cebu Pacific flight late morning and arrived in the “Low Cost Terminal” of Kuala Lumpur at around 1pm.  After passing through immigration and baggage claim, it was quite easy to find the taxi counter and give them the address to Klana Resort, which was about a 40 minute drive from the airport.  The last time I was here in Kuala Lumpur was a decade ago.  It’s hard to believe its been that long considering I remember that trip so vividly.  My dad and I took a trip that time to watch the Formula 1 Gran Prix.  What a trip that was! As the taxi left the airport, I noticed the Sepang track with the huge grand stands.  Brings me back to the days when I was a die hard Formula One fan during the Schumacher era.  This time however, I’m actually getting into Formula One once again since its always shown on television in the Philippines.  As I continue to familiarize myself with the drivers and the strategy, I’m sure I’ll appreciate it once again as much as I did before.

            That’s it for side tracking. Upon reaching the hotel, I met up with Ton who was already in the room.  Hotel dinner that night and hotel breakfast in the morning then off to see the course.  I was rather surprised upon reaching the course.  Mainly because the dried up, poorly maintained carabao grass course looked more like a Muni public course rather than one that would be hosting the year’s highest purse tournament on the ASEAN Tour.  Nonetheless, you play with what you’ve got.  Ton Asistio, Rufino Bayron, Tonyt Fernando and I set off to play 18 in the afternoon.  We seemed to have gotten a good feel of the course, the clubs to be hit off each tee, and the breaks and speeds of the greens.

            That afternoon, Tonyt, Ton, and I took a cab to a mall to eat some good old familiar KFC and Mcdo then shopped around for some various supplies and food.  Now, back at the hotel and ready for bed before the Monday qualifier tomorrow.

            I’ve never traveled this far for a qualifier before.  The longest prior to this was pretty far as well: an 8 hour drive from Florida to Atlanta for the Dogwood Invitational back in 2007.  It’s a big gamble, but there are big rewards as the purse for this tournament is $160,000.

The main thing is that I’m having fun, learning and gaining experience from competitive experiences like these.  By the way, the game is looking sharp so look out!

            Goodnight!