AT THE sound of the tee-off siren at 6.45am yesterday, the 24th edition of The Baiduri Masters at the Pantai Mentiri Golf Club was officiated by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin and Minster of Health Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohd Isham bin Haji Jaafar.
By the end of the session yesterday morning, Dato Harith bin Haji Karim played a great round of golf, placing him at the top of leaderboard with a gross score of 71. Currently standing in second place is Suhaimi bin Haji Ibrahim with a gross of 73. Tied with a score of 74 are Chu Vui Kiat and Nujaimi bin Haji Jumat.
In fifth place is multiple times Baiduri Masters champion Seruji bin Haji Setia with a gross of 75. He is followed closely by Zahrin bin Haji Zunaidi and Azmi bin Haji Osmar, tied at 78. One stroke behind them is Edward Philips followed by Ali bin Haji Rashid with a gross of 80.
Rounding off the leaderboard are Pengiran Fakhrudin bin Pengiran Anak Abdul Rahman, Haji Md Sharifuddin bin Haji Salleh and Mahdini Rosman with a gross of 83.
The 24th edition of The Baiduri Masters takes place over two weekends starting yesterday until tomorrow and from April 19-21. To make the cut, the top 12 gross players overall will get the opportunity to vie for the Green Jacket on the final day.
Besides the coveted Baiduri Masters Green Jacket and Challenge Trophy, the golfers also have the chance to score the fantastic hole-in-one prizes at the historic Pantai Mentiri Golf Club.
The prizes comprise four luxury motor vehicles – a Mini Cabriolet for Hole 7, a Porsche Macan for Hole 9, a BMW 520i for Hole 13 and a BMW Motorrad R Nine T for Hole 16.
There will also be novelty prizes up for grabs for the nearest to the pin throughout the tournament and longest drive, as well as lucky draw prizes.
As with every year, proceeds raised during the Baiduri Masters will be donated to local organisations that help persons with special needs integrate into the wider society.
This year, the organisations are the Children’s Cancer Foundation (YASKA), Child Development Centre, DANA Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital, Learning Ladders Society, the Society for the Management of Autism Related issues in Training, Education and Resources (SMARTER) Brunei, Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam and Demensia Brunei.
Those who want to do their part for charity can still do so at the Pantai Mentiri Golf Club, First Floor, VIP Room but slots for today’s afternoon session are quickly running out.
Participants are encouraged to play more than once to improve their chances of winning, and they will enjoy a BND10 discount on the registration fee on their subsequent rounds.
The Baiduri Masters is an annual charity golf tournament organised by the Baiduri Bank Group and is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Health.
The strategic partners are QAF Brunei Sdn Bhd, QAF Auto Sdn Bhd, QAF Eurokars Sdn Bhd and Brunei Press Sdn Bhd.
The tournament will be played on a format of System 36 (Stroke Play) and the challenge trophy will be decided on gross.
The Baiduri Masters tournament is divided into four divisions – Men’s, Group, Ladies and Junior. The Men’s division will be further divided into Men’s Gross, Men’s Nett and Senior Golfers Nett.