One of Singapore’s reputable tournaments, the Singapore National Amateur Championship, concluded today with SEA Games Team members Gregory Foo and Sarah Tan sealing their win in their respective matches. A fantastic showcase of talent, mental strength and skills, the SEA Games proves to be as ready as they can be for next week.
This four-day tournament started bright and early at the National Service Resort & Country Club, Kranji, where 38 men and 13 women battled it out over one day of strokeplay to make the cut for the match play round robin format to be crowned the champion.
Foo shot a 7-under 65 to place himself comfortably at the top, while Marc Ong, Joshua Ho and Lucius Toh placed themselves behind. For the women’s division, Inez Ng shot 2-under to lead the field while Sarah Tan, Nicole Mok and Jacqueline Young finished comfortably at top 4.
The top 16 men and top 8 women made their way into the first round of match play which kicked off the afternoon of the second day, where players had their lunch and took a short break before heading back on course.
After four matches for the men and three matches for the women, the final showdown was Gregory Foo versus Joshua Shou and Sarah Tan versus Inez Ng. Players vying for the third and fourth position played 18 holes while the winner pool fought it out over 36 holes, where Foo triumphed over Shou 3/2 while Low Wee Jin won 1 up to Abdul Hadi for the men’s division.
“It feels great to win, it was definitely a close match with Joshua today. We were both feeling the nerves down the stretch and it showed in the way we played for sure. Fortunately, I was able to hang on to my slight lead and come through with the win.” Said the winner of the Singapore Open Amateur Championship last month when asked about the match.
For the women’s division, Tan edged Ng out by 4/2 to win and Elizabeth Ang placed third with 3/1 against Ariel Lee.
Speaking to Tan after the round, “I’m happy with how it has gone. The final was quite a match as we were neck to neck after the 18th and I was 1 down after 27. I wanted to keep going after pins on the last few holes and give myself chances to make some birdies.
“The lead was constantly changing and it was definitely a good fight. Inez was superb today. She brought her A game and has a good attitude so it really kept me on my toes. But knowing I can still get a result even without my best stuff is a confidence booster for next week.”
For the strokeplay results click H E R E
For the women’s match play pairings and results, click H E R E
For the men’s match play pairings and results, click H E R E