Asian Development Tour (ADT) players will be vying for an increased prize purse at November’s PKNS Selangor Masters.

To be held at the Kelab Golf Seri Selangor from November 8-11, the 72-hole stroke play event will offer a total prize fund of US$175,000 – up from US$150,000 last year.

For 2023, the event is being co-sanctioned with the Toyota Tour, Malaysia’s domestic professional circuit. The ADT will be allocated 70 spots in the starting line-up, with the Toyota Tour receiving 40 places.

Launched this year, the Toyota Tour is a tri-party agreement between the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, UMW Toyota Motor as the naming partner and MST Golf as the delivery agency.

Cho Minn Thant, the Asian Tour Commissioner & CEO, said: “We’re delighted to confirm the PKNS Selangor Masters’ place on the ADT schedule this year, and to be partnering with the Toyota Tour.

Shahriffuddin Ariffin

“We’re thankful to the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) for their continued support and for ensuring the PKNS Selangor Masters remains one of the richest events on the Asian Development Tour.”

Said YBhg. Dato‘ Mahmud bin Abbas, Chief Executive Officer, PKNS: “The partnership between the PKNS Selangor Masters and the ADT provides an important avenue for professionals to progress to the regional circuits and beyond. We therefore feel it is appropriate to further elevate the stature of the tournament by increasing its purse.”

With the top-10 on the ADT’s end-of-season Order of Merit (OOM) earning promotion to the Asian Tour in 2024, the PKNS Selangor Masters will be one of the closing tournaments that will prove decisive in determining who makes it through.

After an eight-year absence, the PKNS Selangor Masters made a welcome return to the region’s golfing schedule last year.

In a fitting finale, Malaysian Shahriffuddin Ariffin showed steely determination to clinch victory from Thailand’s Denwit Boriboonsub.

He was only the second Malaysian to savour success in the event, following Ben Leong who repelled the challenge of Thai Thongchai Jaidee to triumph in the inaugural Selangor Masters in 2008, when the tournament was part of the Asian Tour.

A project of the Selangor State Development Corporation, Seri Selangor’s Ross Watson-designed 18-hole course was launched amid much fanfare in 1998, billed as Malaysia’s first genuine public facility.

PKNS’ vision was to provide a sustainable golf experience that was affordable and accessible to all. A quarter of a century on, that vision still holds true.