Founding Ground
THE PUTRA CUP
The inaugural Putra Cup hosted by Malaya on 19 July 1961 at the RSGC saw teams from Burma, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and South Vietnam participating in a flag-raising ceremony before the tournament began. Hong Kong won by a thumping 33 strokes with Singapore, Thailand and Malaya taking the consolation places in that order.
The Club continued to host the Putra Cup for the next 3 years from 1962 to 1964. From the following year onwards, the venue was rotated among the participating countries in alphabetical order. On its 25th Anniversary in 1986, the RSGC played host to the Putra Cup to enable the Tunku to witness the proceeding and the game in comfort without been too taxing for him to travel overseas at his age. The Cup was later renamed the Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Cup in honour of our revered and beloved Father of Malaysia.
The Putra Cup, has since been regarded as the official Southeast Asian team golf championship. It embarked its golden jubilee in 2010 and made its way to its original home – Malaysia and was hosted at its founding home ground at the RSGC from 27 September to 1 October 2010.
THE MALAYSIAN OPEN
The history of the Malaysian Open can be trac
ed back to the Far East Circuit for professional golfers which was first established in the early 1960s. In 1961, an invitation was received by the Far East Circuit to stage a Malaysian Open as part of the Circuit. A committee chaired by the then President of the Circuit, Nobby Clarke was formed to approach sponsors to donate cash for a trophy and prize money. A total purse of RM22,500 was raised for the Open and another RM6,000 towards a silver trophy to be crafted in the name of the Open.
The Open was one of the most prestigious tournaments in this part of the world at that time. In the inaugural event, top players like Peter Thompson, Bob Charles, Kel Nagle, Brian Hugget and Hideo Sugimoto were among the contestants and they also influenced other “greats” such as Bruce Devlin, David Graham, Tony Jacklin, Graham Marsh, Isao Aoki and the ever-popular “Mr Liu” Liang Huan to join and add quality to the tournament. Australian Frank Philips took the honour in the inaugural Open by a triumphant 4-day score of 276.
Through the RSGC’s support and commitment, the Open has since achieved international status and is indeed a pride of the nation.
Antelope Horns and Sultan Wings
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THE NOMURA CUP
Another prestigious event staged by the RSGC was the Nomura Cup in 1977.
A biennial Asia-Pacific Amateur Team Championship, the Nomura Cup was inaugurated in the Philippines in 1963. The trophy was donated by Sun Nomura, then Vice-President of the Japan Golf Association. The Nomura Cup was the catalyst for the formation of the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC). The three participating countries Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines formed the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation on the final day of the tournament in Philippines and the name was later changed to Asia Golf Confederation. After the 8th leg of the Championship in 1977, the name was again changed to the present day Asia Pacific Golf Confederation to reflect the participation of Australia, New Zealand Papua New Guinea. The RSGC hosted the Nomura Cup again in 1993.
