Golf veteran Mardan makes pro debut in the US

He will compete in the first leg of the US Champions Senior Tour Qualifying School in the Sunshine State in November.

Sep 29, 2021



SINGAPORE'S most celebrated golfer Mardan Mamat makes his biggest foray into the senior professional golf scene when he leaves for Florida on Friday.

Mardan, who turns 54 on Oct 31, will compete in the first leg of the US Champions Senior Tour Qualifying School in the Sunshine State in November. If he clears the first hurdle, he will compete in the final leg in December.

Mardan, who turned professional back in 1994, has enjoyed 16 professional victories in his career, the most lucrative being the European Tour's Osim Singapore Masters in 2006, which won him a cheque for S$271,300 at Laguna National's Masters course.

The unassuming Warren Golf and Country Club professional will link up with fellow Singaporean Koh Dengshan, who has been in Florida for almost two months and is hoping to play in the Korn Ferry Tour, the developmental event for the US PGA Tour.

All the expenses for Mardan's two-month trip are sponsored by FTAG Financial Group chairman Kelvin Chng and businessman Ju Kai Meng, both of whom have been supporting local golfers in recent years.

Apart from Koh, there are three other Singaporean professionals currently in Florida, namely Gregory Foo, Abdul Hadi and Jesse Yap. Mardan hopes to connect with all of them during his stint there.

"I know it is a tough prospect trying to qualify for the Champions Tour, but I'm happy with my current form. I train daily and I feel good, having lost some weight with my gym work," said Mardan.

In the FTAG Singapore Pro Series Invitational which has completed seven legs with the final leg scheduled for next January, Mardan has been the most consistent player so far.

He finished among the top five in all the legs and now lies third out of 18 players in the overall standings with S$8,100 in prize money, behind Hadi's S$9,300 and Foo's S$8,850.

For the final leg, the usual prize money aside, the Order of Merit winner will receive a S$10,000 bonus.

The Champions Tour, for players above 50, has a formidable field with many former champions, including Gary Player, Bernhard Langer, Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Ernie Els, K J Choi and Vijay Singh.

Among the upcoming events early next year in the United States for which Mardan hopes to play include the Mitsubishi Electric Invitational, Chubb Classic and Insperity Invitational, and they offer prize purses ranging from US$1.6 million to US$3 million.