Professional golfer Danny Chia, currently ranked within the Top 50 on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, made history for Malaysia. In 2010, he became the first player from Malaysia to play in all four rounds at the British Open at St. Andrews. He also secured two Top 10 finishes at the Sail Open in India and Handa Singapore Classic.

He enjoyed one of his best seasons in a long while in 2009 thanks to five Top 20s. He was tied-seventh at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters and equal 11th in the Maybank Malaysian Open where he was the halfway leader

The 38-year old was also the first Malaysian to win an Asian Tour event when he won the Taiwan Open in 2002. He won The International Championship in Jakarta in 2007 and the Mercedes-Benz Masters Thailand in 2008.

Chia also broke the USD100,000 mark in total career earnings for the first time since 1998. In 2002, Chia became the second Malaysian to play in The Open Championship.

Mohd Shaaban Hussin who turned professional in 2003, shocked the nation when he qualified for the inaugural PGA Tour-sanctioned event in Malaysia last year. He beat nearly a field of over 100 professionals that battled it out for the one spot allocated for a Malaysian professional.

Shabaan learned to play golf while he was caddying at the Royal Kedah Golf Club at the age of 14. He has represented Malaysia in various international tournaments and was ranked as Malaysia’s number one amateur in 2001 and 2002 before turning professional.

2009 would prove to be a memorable year for Shaaban as he secured his Asian Tour card by a mere USD308 in 65th place on the Order of Merit. His season was capped with a tied 9th finish at the Brunei Open and a tied 11th outing at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters in Malaysia.

He almost made a breakthrough at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open but failed to birdie the 18th hole to force a play-off with eventual winner Marcus Both of Australia to finish second. He struggled to find his feet in 2010 and claimed a tied 10th finish Cambodian Open.

Shaaban was the ranked number one Malaysian amateur in 2001 and 2002.

In 2010, M. Sasidaran made five consecutive cuts starting from the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters and managed his best placing of tied 33rd at the Iskandar Johor Open. He struggled in 2009 but finished an impressive eighth place at the Queen’s Cup in Thailand.

Sasidaran earned his right to feature in the Asian Tour from a country exemption. Sasidaran, who played in nine competitions, finished in the Top 10 at the Bangkok Airways Open and Singha Open. In the Asean Tour, he finished 12th in Singapore.

Airil Rizman Zahari became only the second Malaysian to win on the Asian Tour when he claimed victory at the 2007 Pakistan Open holding off of Scott Hend and Simon Hurd in the final round. Went on to post two other Top 10s but success has been hard to follow in the subsequent seasons where he later conceded that he made too many changes to his game, including switching equipment manufacturers.

He showed glimpses of his best form in 2010 by finishing tied 14th at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters and revealed that he had reverted back to his old clubs. He endured a frustrating 2009 season where his best result was a tied 21st finish at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters.

Airil was the Malaysian National Amateur champion in 1998, 1999 and 2001 and a team gold medallist at the 2001 Southeast Asian Games.

S. Sivachandran ended his 2010 season by finishing atop the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit. That position earned him his Asian Tour card for the 2011 season. The Malaysian rounded off a spectacular week at the 2010 Negeri Sembilan Masters Invitational, Malaysia with an astounding 12-stroke victory. His wire-to-wire victory with a four-day total of 18-under-par 270 earned him a first Asian Development Tour victory.

Sivachandran’s best finish during the 2009 Asian Tour season was a tied 10th finish at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters. He posted five Top 30s in 2008. He delivered one Top 20 on home soil at the Iskandar Johor Open in the 2007 season.

As an amateur, he was ranked number one in Malaysia before turning professional.

Ben Leong fulfilled his potential when he won the Worldwide Selangor Masters in 2008, beating Thai star Thongchai Jaidee in a head-to-head duel. It culminated a three week stretch as he had won two other Malaysian titles in quick succession.

In 2009, Leong only managed one Top 20 at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters but bounced back superbly in 2010 where he claimed two Top 10 finish at the Brunei Open and Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Chinese Taipei.

Prior to his victory, Leong showed signs of a breakthrough when he finished tied third in the Asian Tour International in Thailand and fifth in the Singha Thailand PGA Championship. He also holds the distinction of winning the Asian Tour’s Qualifying School in successive years at the end of 2006 and 2007.

He turned professional after representing Malaysia in the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 and enjoyed a good amateur career, highlighted by his triumphs in the Putra Cup.

Currently Leong is aiming to become the first Malaysian to claim multiple Asian Tour titles when the new season tees off at the Avantha Masters in India.

40-year old Iain Steel became the first Malaysian golfer to ever play in The Open Championship. Steel joined the Asian Tour in 2006 after finishing tied for 4th place at the Tour qualifying school. He managed to establish himself on the Tour, appearing inside the Top 50 Order of Merit each season with various strong finishes but has yet to win a tournament. Steel also retained membership of the European Tour.

In 2010, Steel missed the cut in his opening six events. The Malaysian turned his season around the second half with a third place finish at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taipei and tied sixth at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open.

The Malaysian adjusted to life on the Asian Tour but spends most of his early professional days in the United States. In 2008, Iain took time to find his best form before finishing third at the Selangor Masters which marked the start of a sensational run of form. He subsequently finished eighth at the Brunei Open and sixth in the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational where he held the joint lead going into the last round. Iain enjoyed further Top 10s at the Iskandar Johor Open, UBS Hong Kong Open and Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open. In 2007, Steel came close to obtaining a maiden title when he lost in a playoff to Liang Wen-chong at the Singapore Masters.

Dubbed as the “player to watch this year”, Mohd Azman Basharudin clinched top spot at the Malaysian Golf Association’s National Trial just last month. With a superb total of six-under-par 138, Mohd Azman beat a field of 44 young players including Green who claimed second. The Kedah Amateur Open 2010 champion, Mohd Azman claimed his rightful berth in the 2011 National Team.

Selangor Amateur Open 2010 champion, Mohd Hisyam Abdul Majid will try his luck again this year in the 50th edition of the Maybank Malaysian Open 2011. The 19-year old lad who is currently residing in Brisbane, Australia missed the cut in last year’s edition but will surely be eager to redeem himself.

Gavin Kyle Green is no stranger to the golfing realm in Malaysia. The 17-year old has a streak of impressive credentials including the Kurnia-Saujana Amateur Championship title, 100Plus Malaysian Junior Open and the Malaysian Amateur Close Championship titles and will compete alongside top international players for his chance to bring his name to the spotlight.

17-year old Chan Tuck Soon is regarded as the number one junior golfer in Malaysia. He has numerous titles under his belt and he’s well respected as one of the great talents in Malaysian golf. He has even shot a 66 at the tender age of 12 years. At the recent British Junior Open at the Lundin Golf Club in Scotland, Chan conquered his first links course to finish 10th out of a field of 150 juniors from 70 countries.

In 2010 alone, Chan has collected 18 Top 10 finish including wins at the 3rd Sportexcel Junior Open at the Royal Johor Golf Club back in June and the Perak Amateur Golf Championship in November. He also claimed the runner-up spot at the Majlis Sukan Sekolah-sekolah Selangor, KL Amateur Open, 2nd Elite Sportexcel Championship, the 5th Elite Sportexcel, 10th Sportexcel Junior Open, Grand Final of the Sportexcel Junior Open and the Asia Pacific Junior Matchplay.

Jeremiah Kim Leun Kwang made his mark as a junior player in 2008 when he emerged as the winner of the Sportexcel Order of Merit whereby he collected seven out of 11 league wins. This win was subsequently followed by a win in the 1st Leg of the Sportexcel tournament at Sri Menanti and also the Selangor Junior Masters at Sri Selangor Golf and Country Club.

Kim was also part of the Putra Cup, Lion Cup Malaysian squad whereby 10 countries go head-to-head. Malaysia came out with the tied 11th place.

In 2010, Kim claimed the MSSD Tournament title with a stunning shot of six-under par 66 in the under-18 category and subsequently went on to winning the KL Sukma Trials at the Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam.

Malaysian golfer, Kenneth de Silva, edged compatriot Low Khai Jei to emerge as the champion of the Selangor Amateur Open at the Peransang Templer Golf Club earlier this year.

2010 saw the 19-year old book himself a return trip to the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final after winning the Faldo Series Malaysia Championship by three shots. He also bagged the boys under-20 title at the AmBank Group-Crest Link Sportexcel Grand Final late last year. De Silva had also partaken at the Negeri Sembilan Masters, Kurnia Saujana Championship, the Malaysian Open, Perlis Amateur Open and the Kuala Lumpur Open.