With scores of 82 and 85 respectively in Round 1, Faizal Zaharudin and Azlan Abu Bakar were placed in the final flight in Round 2, and all eyes were on them. Azlan then overtook Faizal with a 5-stroke lead. By Hole 18, it looked like Azlan had it in the bag - all he needed was a clean finish to secure the title.

But golf has its own way of overwhelming even the steadiest of players. On the final hole, Azlan's approach shot found the greenside bunker. Attempting to recover, his ball struck the wall and frustratingly bounced back into the sand - 3 times! His fourth try finally landed it on the green. Despite the incorrigible setback, Azlan (86) still edged Faizul (90) by 4 strokes and the crowd already anticipated its winner in celebratory atmosphere.

But the drama didn't end there.

Once the scores were tallied, a surprising twist emerged - Azlan placed 3rd! The real story of the day came from a non-final flight - Shanmugam Suppiah, who started the day in 9th place after shooting an 89 in Round 1. Quietly and consistently, he finished with an impressive 80 in Round 2, conquering the championship while most eyes were on the leading group. Talk about a silent takeover! It was one of the most inspiring (and shocking) turnarounds we've seen. That's the beauty of golf - the leadership isn't final until the last putt drops!

We'll feature more about Shanmugam's quiet victory in the upcoming Subang Quarterly (July -September 2025). Full results are now available on the MyKGNS App.