Quarter Finals – Team Match Play
Team Singapore makes early exit in team competition
Phnom Penh, May 11: Team Singapore failed to advance beyond the quarter-final stage of the men’s and women’s team golf competition on Thursday.
In the men’s match play battle between Singapore and Thailand, Ryan Ang fell to a 2&1 loss to 15-year-old Ratchanon Chantananuwat who is the youngest male player to win on the Asian Tour when he clinched the Trust Golf Asia Mixed Cup last year.
Brandon Han salvaged half a point after tying with Jiradech Chaowarat. But with Arsit Areephun taking down Daryl Low 3&1 in the decider, the result confirmed the men’s early departure from the team competition.
Hailey Loh and Aloysa Atienza also suffered similar fortunes after bowing out with a playoff defeat against Indonesia’s Elaine Widjaja and Holly Victoria Halim.
Loh lost 2&1 to Widjaja while Atienza won 1-Up against Halim. However, in the playoff where Widjaja went head-to-head with Atienza, it was the Indonesian who eventually prevailed with a par after Atienza bogeyed
National coach Murray Smit recognises the top-quality opponents his charges faced and despite bowing early, he was pleased with the team’s fighting spirit.
“It has been an incredible privilege to be a part of Team Singapore for the first time at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia. It has been a phenomenal opportunity to see the strength of golf within South East Asia first-hand, I have been extremely impressed with the standard of play.
“The Singapore side has had a challenging week but fought valiantly throughout. We were seeded fourth in the women’s section and sixth in the men’s, with notable performances from Aloysa Atienza and Ryan Ang who finished tied-seventh and tied-eighth respectively.
“We were knocked out in both the men’s and women’s quarterfinals today in very tightly contested matches. The women’s team lost in a playoff against Indonesia and all three of the men’s matches were extremely tight against a formidable Thai team.”
For Team results, click here
Round 3 – Individual
Ang ready for team battle after signing off with a 67
Phnom Penh, May 10: Ryan Ang signed off from the SEA Games men’s individual golf competition with a flawless five-under-par 67 to finish in a share of eighth place alongside Thailand’s Arsit Areephun at the Garden City Golf Club in Phnom Penh on Wednesday.
Ang posted rounds of 77, 66 and 67 for a three-day total of six-under-par 210, seven shots behind Vietnam’s Khanh Hung Le, who clinched the gold medal after closing with a 69. Malaysia’s Malcolm Ting took home the silver medal after he defeated Vietnam’s Ann Minh Nguyen and compatriot Anson Yeo in a three-way playoff.
Despite missing out on a podium finish, Ang has turned his attention to the team competition and believes Team Singapore stand a fighting chance against favourite Thailand when they go head-to-head in their quarter-final matchplay battle on Thursday.
“I’m really proud of how I battled back after a rough first day and proceeded to shoot the lowest weekend score (-11) out of anyone in the field this week. This just gives me, even more, belief that I have what it takes to win.
“I think it’ll definitely be a tough match-up for us in the team event as we’re facing Thailand first. But being the underdogs always has its benefits and with all the boys trending well in strokeplay, we look to give it our best and bounce back stronger,” said Ang.
Daryl Low emerged as the second highest-placed Singaporean when he posted a 71 to take a share of 16th place while Brandon Han carded a 70 to finish tied-19th. Justin Kuk signed for his best score of 72 after earlier rounds of 79 and 82 to end his individual campaign in tied-28th place.
In the women’s individual competition, Aloysa Atienza carded a 76 to finish in tied-seventh place, 12 shots behind Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuen, who defeated Eila Galitsky- the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Champion, in the first playoff hole to take home the gold medal. Malaysia clinched another medal when Foong Zi Yu secured the bronze medal with rounds of 72, 69 and 67.
Hailey Loh, meanwhile, signed for a 72 to finish in outright ninth place while Jaymie Ng carded a 72 to take 14th place.
The team competition, which follows a matchplay format, starts on Thursday, May 10. The women’s team will take on Indonesia in the quarter-final.
Men’s individual event:
Ryan Ang: 77, 66, 67 = 210 (-6) – T8th position
Daryl Low: 73, 71, 71 = 215 (-1) – T16th position
Brandon Han: 74, 74, 70 = 218 (+2) – T19th position
Justin Kuk: 79, 82, 72 = 233 (+17) – T28th position
Women’s individual event:
Aloysa Atienza: 71, 68, 76 = 215 (-1) – T7th position
Hailey Loh: 74, 70, 72 = 216 (Even) – 9th position
Jaymie Ng: 78, 73, 72 = 223 (+7) – 14th position
For Team results, click here
For Individual results, click here
Round 2 – Individual
Atienza stays in contention as Ang stages fightback
Phnom Penh, May 9: Aloysa Atienza remained firmly in medal contention as she fired a four-under-par 68 to head into the final round of the SEA Games golf competition four shots back of Thai leader, Eila Galitsky at the Garden City Golf Club in Phnom Penh on Tuesday.
Atienza, the individual silver medallist at the last SEA Games in 2022, is in outright third place with her two-day total of five-under-par 139 as Galitsky, the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship, stole the second day honours by signing for a six-under-par 66 in round two for a 135 total.
Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuen is in second place after returning with a 69 and trails Galitsky by one shot.
Atienza stumbled early with a bogey on the opening par-four 10th. She recovered quickly with birdies on holes 11 and 13 before making five straight pars to turn in 35.
The 24-year-old continued to stay calm under pressure and was rewarded with three birdies on holes three, six and eight in her inward-nine.
“Looking at my scorecard, an outsider would’ve thought I played some boring golf, but it was a tough grind out there today. I got off to a rough start, three-putted on my starting hole. I managed to stay in the present the whole day and focused on what I had in front of me.
“I managed to save par a couple of times today which kept my momentum going. I believe I’m in a really good headspace even though I’m not striking my best, and I think that has kept me in contention the last two days,” said Atienza.
Hailey Loh, meanwhile, signed for a bogey-free 70 to lie in ninth place while Jaymie Ng improved with a 73 after carding a 78 in her opening round.
In the men’s individual competition, Ryan Ang mounted his fightback by firing a 66 after struggling with an opening 77.
The 23-year-old carded three straight pars before marking his card with his first birdie on the par-four fourth hole. After turning in 35, Ang went on a four-hole birdie blitz starting with the par-four 10.
He dropped a shot on 14 but responded with another pair of birdies on 15 and 16 before closing with pars on 17 and 18 to end the day tied for 12th, nine shots back of Vietnamese leader Khanh Hung Le.
“The round went really well and I’m really proud of where I’m at mentally and how I bounced back after yesterday. I made a slight alignment change after yesterday’s round and it felt really uncomfortable on the range warming up.
“However, I just trusted it and the rest is history. My focus will be to stay patient, pick my moments to attack. I believe hugely in myself to go and post another low round this week,” said Ang.
Daryl Low signed for a 71 for a share of 15th place while Brandon Han and Justin Kuk carded rounds of 74 and 82 respectively.
The final round for the individual strokeplay competition will tee off on Wednesday, May 10.
Women’s individual event:
Aloysa Atienza: 71, 68 = 139 (-5) – 3rd position
Hailey Loh: 74, 70 = 144 (Even) – 9th position
Jaymie Ng: 78, 73 = 151 (+7) – T14th position
Men’s individual event:
Ryan Ang: 77, 66 = 143 (-1) – T12th position
Daryl Low: 73, 71 = 144 (Even) – T15th position
Brandon Han: 74, 74 = 148 (+4) – 21st position
Justin Kuk: 79, 82 = 161 (+17) – 32nd position
For Team results, click here
For Individual results, click here
Round 1 – Individual
Atienza opens with a 71 as SEA Games golf competition gets underway
Phnom Penh, May 8: Aloysa Atienza carded a one-under-par 71 in the women’s individual strokeplay event to trail Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuen by four shots in outright third place as the golf competition got underway at the 32nd SEA Games on Monday.
Thailand’s Eila Galitsky, who won the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in Singapore in March, posted a 69 to take second place at the Garden City Golf Club in Phnom Penh.
Atienza, the 2022 individual silver medallist at the last SEA Games in 2022, parred her first two holes as she teed off on the back-nine 10. She then birdied 12 before dropping a shot on the par-three 15.
The 24-year-old reached the turn in 34 after redeeming herself with an eagle-three on 17. She went on to par the next seven holes before dropping another shot on the par-five eight and closing with a par on nine.
Atienza conceded nerves got the better of her on the opening day and looks forward to mounting a fightback on Tuesday.
“Going into the round, I felt extremely nervous, I think anyone could tell from a mile away. As the round went on, I did very well to keep myself in the present which I feel helped me to recover really well when I had mishits.
“Going into tomorrow, I want to keep the expectations away as much as possible and focus on playing my best and grinding out a score,” said Atienza.
Hailey Loh, who became the first-ever Singaporean to capture a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) conference championship in April, signed for a 74 to share ninth place with Lois Kaye and Rianne Mikhaela from the Philippines. Jaymie Ng, meanwhile, posted a 78 to trail Ng by 11 shots in tied-17th place.
In the men’s competition, Daryl Low emerged as the leading Singaporean as the SEA Games debutant signed for a 73 for a share of 12th place- four shots back of Malaysia’s Malcolm Ting and Vietnam’s Khanh Hung who shared the opening round honours with matching 69s.
Brandon Han carded a 74 to be placed in tied 16th while Ryan Ang and Justin Kuk returned with 77 and 79
For Team results, click here
For Individual results, click here
32nd SEA Games: Who Are The Seven National Golfers Heading To Phnom Penh?
From May 8-13, seven of Singapore’s national golfers are set to battle it out with their regional rivals across four events – men’s individual, men’s team, women’s individual and women’s team – at the 2023 SEA Games held at the Garden City Golf Club in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Six gruelling days of golf await the Republic’s septet, including three debutants, who are aiming to continue Singapore’s streak of medalling at every Games since 2015. At last year’s Hanoi Games, Aloysa Atienza clinched silver in the women’s individual 54-hole strokeplay event while both the men’s and women’s teams narrowly missed out on a medal after losing their bronze play-off matches in matchplay format. With the 2023 team set to fly to Phnom Penh on Saturday, the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) profiles all seven of Team Singapore’s golfers selected for the 32nd SEA Games.
Men’s Team
Ryan Ang
Age: 23
World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of May 6): 432
Record at SEA Games: 2022 (8th)
In February 2023, Ryan drew plaudits when he made the cut at the Singapore Classic – a DP World Tour event – ahead of former Ryder Cup-calibre players Thomas Bjorn and Rafa Cabrera-Bello en route to a 67thplace finish. The 23-year-old is no stranger to stacked fields, having played on the professional Asian Tour earlier in 2022 – at the SMBC Singapore Open and International Series Singapore. He was also the top performing Singaporean at the Hanoi Games. With his wealth of experience, Ryan is expected to shoulder the Republic’s medal hopes in Cambodia.
Brandon Han
Age: 20
World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of May 6): 562
Record at SEA Games: 2022 (22nd)
Achieving his breakthrough in 2022, Brandon made his mark by capturing August’s prestigious Singapore National Amateur Championship before claiming two more titles – Bangchak Championship (19-23 category) and Singapore Junior Masters – later that year. Brandon has set himself a target of breaking into the top 100 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking and an improved showing at the Cambodia Games – from his 22nd place finish in Hanoi last year – will certainly set him on the right path.
Daryl Low
Age: 18
World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of May 6): 604
Record at SEA Games: Debut
Daryl’s journey in golf began with watching Tiger Woods play the Masters on TV and as one of the two youngest golfers on the plane to Cambodia, he will be hoping to follow in Tiger’s footsteps. The ACSI student burst onto the scene when he won the 2021 Singapore Junior Masters as a 16-year-old and has since gone from strength to strength. In 2022, Daryl picked up all three of SGA’s National Ranking Game titles and finished off the year by beating out regional rivals to claim November’s Johor Amateur Open. After finishing in a tie for third at Japan’s famed The Royal Junior tournament in April, Daryl heads into the Games as a debutant in inspired form.
Justin Kuk
Age: 22
World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of May 6): 1076
Record at SEA Games: Debut
Born into a family of golfers, Justin will be the first of the Kuk siblings to play in the SEA Games. He has a twin brother Jason and a younger sister, Jillian, who are both also amateur golfers. Justin has aspirations to turn professional and carries with him an unshakable confidence in his golfing abilities. The 22-year-old was part of a team of four that clinched gold in the 2019 Putra Cup and like Ryan, he has had top-level experience from playing three Asian Tour events in 2022. Making his Games debut in Cambodia, Justin will be keen to show he can compete with the region’s best.
Women’s Team
Aloysa Atienza
Age: 24
World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of May 6): 247
Record at SEA Games: 2022 (2nd)
Aloysa secured a historic silver in Hanoi with a blistering final round of 65 (-7) to become the first female golfer to stand on the SEA Games podium since Koh Sock Hwee won bronze on home soil in 2015. She has since recorded steady performances in 2023 with top 30 finishes in the Women’s Australian Master of the Amateurs (T-13) and the Philippines’ Queen Sirikit Cup (T-28). Crediting SGA’s performance mindset coach Hansen Bay for an improvement to her mental game, Aloysa hopes to use her experience to go one better this time round.
Hailey Loh
Age: 20
World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of May 6): 785
Record at SEA Games: 2022 (6th), 2019 (15th)
Making headlines in April, Hailey became the first-ever Singaporean to capture a National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) conference championship. The 20-year-old was also the top local golfer (T-22) at March’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship (WAAP). Due to a clash of schedules, she made the difficult decision to give up her slot in the NCAA regionals to compete in her third SEA Games. Hailey is intent on making up for last year’s heartbreak in the team event, where she lost in a deciding semi-final play-off to Filipina Rianne Mikhaela Malixi Aala. In the individual event, Hailey has her eyes set on gold.
Jaymie Ng
Age: 18
World Amateur Golf Ranking (as of May 6): 446
Record at SEA Games: Debut
Jaymie won the Singapore Junior Golf Championship in June last year and also made the cut in both WAAP tournaments in 2022 and 2023, placing 43rd and 41st respectively. Her composure and mental fortitude have also helped her to qualify for the reputable U.S Girl’s Junior Championship in 2022. Having tested herself against the world’s best junior golfers, the 18-year-old is well equipped to handle the pressure of flying Singapore’s flag high in Cambodia.
