Erika eyes Faldo series Grand Finals again

She made it to the Faldo Series Grand Finals once.

And she is craving for more.

Erika Layson is a dedicated golfer with a high passion for the game.

She trains hard, thinks big, gives of her best in play, and is hungry to make it in bigtime golf.

The 15-year-old Nanyang Girls student is a marquee player in the three-day Faldo Series in Singapore starting on Tuesday at the Jurong Country Club.

Just edged out (2/1) to the runner-up spot in the women's matchplay final at the Singapore National Amateur Championships on Thursday, Erika does not seek vengeance.

"I have entered for the Faldo event again because if you win you get to play in the Grand Finals which is a great experience," said Erika, obviously driven by a winning mentality.

And she knows what the big experience is all about as she won last year's Singapore Series and played in the Grand Finals at the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen this year.

She is among 47 golfers in the four-division Series for kids aged between 12 and 17.

The series, initiated by six-time Major champion Sir Nick Faldo in 1996 (started in Singapore in 2006) was created to give opportunities to young people through golf and to help identify and nurture the next generation of champions.

Supported by golf's governing bodies, 40 annual tournaments take place in 30 countries worldwide, spanning Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

More than 7,000 young talented golfers benefit from the programme each year through a unique combination of tournament experience and expert advice, including support and advice from Faldo himself.

Past winners include Major champions Rory McIlroy and Tseng Ya-ni, plus Tour winners Nick Dougherty, Oliver Fisher, Marc Warren, Rashid Khan and Melissa Reid.

At the award-winning Laguna Golf Lang Co club (which stages the Grand Finals in March next year) last week, Faldo said: "My main reason for starting the Faldo Series was to try and give something back to the game that has given me so much.

"With the wealth of young talent in this part of the region, I won't be surprised if Asia produces another Major winner soon, a clear example being the sudden rise of Japan's Hideki Matsuyama."

Matsuyama, 24, who won the winner's prize of US$1.62 million ($2.3m) at the HSBC Championship in Shanghai last month, is currently ranked No. 6 in the world.