Team Audi's Lim goes on a birdie-blitz
On a great day for golf, Lo hits a high, SunMoon rise to the challenge
On a pleasant day with clouds hovering over the sky, many golfers raised their game at the Orchid Country Club last Wednesday.
Fourteen players tamed the Vanda and Aranda courses with sub-80 scores and one low-handicapper, Alan Lo (handicap index 3) of Team Emerio, shot a five-under 67 in the fourth of six legs of the Business Times Corporate Golf League.
And as you soak in those sensations, there were three other significant firsts that left all and sundry wallowing about the goings-on at the dinner served up by popular Indian restaurant Gayatri at the Emerald Room.
Team Audi's Lim Joo Seng returned a two-under 70, buoyed by six birdies, to take the FJ Player of the Round honours with 42 points, which was capped at 40 points for the team count.
Lim, 47, a six-handicapper, amazed everyone with the huge points tally despite blowing the easy Aranda par-four first hole with a double-bogey and no points after going out-of- bounds with his drive. He also had eight pars and three bogeys.
Said Lim, who used to run a jewellery business: "I am in semi-retirement now, so I play at least twice a week. I also know the course well as I'm also an Orchid member. For a single-handicapper, playing off the whites can be a breeze."
Best-ever 273-metre whack
The easy-going Lim, who averages about 250 metres with his drives, also surprised the 100-odd diners with his best-ever 273-metre whack (on a backwind) on the Aranda ninth hole.
Despite that massive hit, Lim finished only second in the BOSS Longest Drive contest because Leslie Goh (handicap index 10.9) of Bank of Singapore,nailed it 281 metres for what could turn out to be the best in the series, in line for the full ensemble of suit, worth $2,000, sponsored by Hugo Boss.,
Then Team SunMoon, defending champions and multi-winners of the BT league, now into its eighth year, played themselves into contention again with a mammoth 116 total points, 21 points above their first-leg total of 95 points which can be discarded in the best-of- five count.
Lying 10 th after the first leg, SunMoon have moved to third on 427 points, seven points behind leaders Tat Hong and five short of Team Citi. Roland Liew (40), Dino Se (39) and Tan Teck Lee (37) contributed to their Orchid total.
But on the best-three count, they share the lead with Team Citi on 332, with two legs to follow next month at Warren and Tanah Merah.
Business Times news editor Ven Sreenivasan, in his address to the diners, said: "It was heartening to see some fabulous scores on a fine golfing day. The BT Corporate League, with a host of sponsors, namely presenting sponsor Audi, main sponsor Macallan, and Banyan Tree, Centurion, DHL and Tat Hong, among others, is fast becoming a popular event for corporates and companies. We look forward to continued support."
Other results: Nearest To Pin (Hole Vanda 2): Leslie Goh, 2.7 metres. Nearest To Pin (Hole Aranda 6): Alan Lo, 1.8 metres. Best Social Golfer: Spencer Robinson (38 points). Best Social Team: TM Rare Cask Rangers (108 points on countback)
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