Hiroshi Tai first S’pore golfer to compete at Masters
Singapore’s Hiroshi Tai made history on May 28 by becoming the first Singaporean golfer to win the NCAA National Championship title in Carlsbad, California.
By doing so, Tai, who enrolled in Georgia Tech University in 2022, also booked his spot at the 2025 Masters. He will also be the first golfer from the Republic to play at the prestigious tournament at Augusta National.
Previous winners of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) individual championship include Major champions Ben Crenshaw, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson.
Tai, 22, finished with a three-under 285 to win by a single stroke over five players, including 2023 champion Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt University.
Tai survived a triple bogey on the par-three eighth, his second-last hole, and closed with a one-under 71. He waited nearly two hours for Sargent and James to finish their rounds at the La Costa North Golf Course.
He becomes the fourth player from Georgia Tech to win the NCAA individual national title and first since Troy Matteson in 2002.
The sophomore picked up golf after his parents brought him to the Bukit range at Singapore Island Country Club when he was just four years old.
Ranked No. 70 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, he had previously clinched two titles in 2022 – the Maui Jim Invitational and Georgia Collegiate Invitational.
Tai will now turn his attention to the team championship, where Georgia Tech are the eighth seed. The quarter finals and semi-finals will be played via matchplay format on May 28 while the final will be held on May 29.
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