Back for another shot at WAGC glory

There will be familiar faces among the 31 golfers fighting it out at the SPH Golf World Amateur Golf Championships (WAGC) next Tuesday after the second qualifier was completed on Monday.

Among them are Sushminder Singh and Willy Teo, who helped Singapore to a second-placed finish in the team event at the WAGC Finals in Antalya, Turkey, in 2015.

Also in the mix is Lee Kian, who went one better when he won both his division and the team event last year in Durban, South Africa.

Yesterday at the Singapore Island Country Club's Island Course, Lee and Singh shot an 88 and an 89 respectively to progress from Division C.

In the first qualifier last week, Teo progressed from his Division D group with an 86.

Into its 23nd edition this year, the WAGC offers different handicap divisions for golfers of varying abilities.

The competition is played across five divisions based on a golfer's handicap index: A (0-5.4), B (5.5-10.4), C (10.5-15.4), D (15.5-20.4) and E (20.5-25.4).

The winner of each division will then represent Singapore at the WAGC Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from Nov 18 to 25.

Lee, who played in Division E last year, said: "I thought I didn't play so well, so this is a surprise. But I'm happy to get another chance to make it to the WAGC Finals again.

“The fairways here are narrow and the greens are tricky, so I’m just going to try my best and see if it’s good enough to win.”Sushminder Singh

"This means I will have to practise harder this coming week because the course and the competition in my category are quite tough.

"This course is different from others because it is not as flat as usual. The ball can be above or below your feet, which makes it difficult to get a good hit.

COURSE MANAGEMENT

"There is not much room for error and a mistake can bite you hard. I will bring with me a drawing of the slopes as course management is key in making fewer mistakes.

"I have studied previous winning scores and I will have to shoot around 82 to be the last man standing."

Meanwhile, Singh has unfinished business after missing out on last year's WAGC Finals by one shot.

The 46-year-old, who played in Division B at the WAGC Finals in 2014 and 2015, said: "I definitely miss the feeling of representing Singapore.

"But I'm struggling with my game, so I dropped a division. I barely scraped through to next week's final qualifier.

"The fairways here are narrow and the greens are tricky, so I'm just going to try my best and see if it's good enough to win."

 

QUALIFIERS FOR NATIONAL FINALS

Division B: Leslie Goh, Fu Sze Kay

Division C: Collin Tang, Chelsea Chen Xiaquin, Lee Kian, Sam Lim Hock Eng, Sushminder Singh, Mohd Rosli Yusof 

Division D: Gan Siat Yean, Jeffrey Dang Kor Hin, Chow Yi Tong, Fred Tay Kam Kiang, Raj M Perumal

Division E: Winston Chew Meng Hui, Samuel Chua Hock Sing, Sunny Yeong San Lee