BMW Golf Cup International World Final: Malaysia defends title in national competition. Victorious Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie presents trophies in Phuket.

Phuket. The Blue Canyon Country Club on the island of Phuket in southern Thailand hosted the World Final of the BMW Golf Cup International this week. 106 amateur golfers from 37 countries had qualified for the largest international tournament series for amateurs. After three rounds on the two spectacular courses – the “Canyon Course” and the “Lakes Course” –, Team Malaysia won the national competition to retain the title they won last year in George, South Africa.

“At the World Final you can feel how enthusiastic amateur golfers around the world are about our tournament series,” said Magnus Wiese, head of BMW Golfsport Marketing. “The tournament was a worthy finale to the BMW Golf Cup International, and all the participants are winners. Their sporting performance and the way they all got on together created a special atmosphere on what are truly beautiful, but also very demanding, golf courses.”

Malaysia scored 304 net points to finish ahead of Hong Kong (299) and Taiwan (293). In the Men's A category (handicap up to 12), Somruk Napachot secured a ‘home win’ with 107 points. Australia's Dennis Hu came through to clinch victory in a hard-fought Men's B category (handicap 13-28) with 114 points, while Gillian Lai from Hong Kong comfortably won the Ladies competition (handicap up to 28) by ten clear points. Colin Montgomerie was on hand to present the trophies to the winners. The victorious Ryder Cup captain had previously held a golf clinic, during which the World Finalists were able to benefit from his vast wealth of experience.

“I am very excited to have been invited to the BMW Golf Cup International World Final. BMW is an important partner to the sport of golf - both on the professional level and also on the amateur level,” said the Scot. “I have played the Canyon Course in the past, and it is a very beautiful and also very challenging course. I am impressed by how the World Finalists managed to overcome these challenges. I have seen some great golf today.”

Men's A:

1. Napachot, Somruk (Thailand), 107 net points

2. Takashina, Shigehisa (Japan), 106

3. B. Rusli, Shah Irwan (Malaysia) 101

Men's B:

1. Hu, Dennis (Australia), 114

2. Huang, Yung-Chin (Taiwan), 113

3. B. Raja Said Abidin, Raja (Malaysia), 113

Ladies:

1. Lai, Gillian (Hong Kong), 113

2. Muir, Annette (New Zealand), 93

3. Hiratsuka, Mitsuko (Japan), 90

Teams:

1. Malaysia, 304

2. Hong Kong, 299

3. Taiwan, 293

You can find copyright free images from the BMW Golf Cup International World Final for editorial use online at:

www.bmw-worldfinal.com