Amateurs keen on Asia-Pacific meets

Major winners Hideki Matsuyama, Yuka Saso and Patty Tavatanakit have one thing in common.

All three graduated from competing in the Asia-Pacific amateur championships to striking it big in the "Slams" to underline the belief that the continental event is a perfect platform from which to launch one's career to the golfing stratosphere.

That is why the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) grabbed every opportunity to send a large team to next month's Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) and Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in the United Arab Emirates.

Said SGA's acting general manager Joshua Ho: "During a period of fewer opportunities for our national players to compete, it is good to give them exposure."

The Republic will send six players from here and welcome five from the United States.

The squad comprise James Leow, Wong Qi Wen, Justin Kuk, Brandon Han (men), and Shannon Tan, Jaymie Ng, Hailey Loh, Shang Yu, Shayne Lim, Yoko Tai and Aloysa Atienza. The Nov 3-6 men's event will be held at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club. The women's version is at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club from Nov 10-13.

SEA Games champion Leow, 24, an Arizona State University undergraduate who won this year's Southwestern Amateur title, said: "It's been an up-and-down year for me with injuries and mental struggles. But I have had some really solid rounds. I competed in the AAC in 2015, 2016 and 2019, and my best finish was tied-fifth two years ago."

AAC debutant Kuk, 20, is looking to take his game to the next level.

Currently Singapore's top-ranked player after winning three national ranking games, he said: "I've been training hard and am looking forward to comparing my game to one of the strongest fields in the Asia-Pacific."

National coach Matt Ballard, who will accompany the teams, said: "While we have experienced players who will be eager to contend, we also have some debutants who are looking forward eagerly to this major event. In the lead-up, we have been placing added emphasis on sharpening their scoring abilities by increasing the intensity of on-course and short-game sessions."

The AAC, cancelled last year due to the pandemic, was established in 2009 to further develop amateur golf in the region.

The champion receives an invitation to compete in the Masters and the British Open, while the second-place players enter the final qualifying for the British Open.

The AAC has served as a springboard to fame for some of the world's top players, including Japan's Matsuyama, a two-time winner in 2010 and 2011 who won this year's Masters.

The inaugural women's event was held at Sentosa Golf Club in 2018. Among its alumni are Thailand's Tavatanakit and Filipina Saso, who won the ANA Inspiration and US Women's Open respectively this year.

Singapore's roster features the in-form Shannon, 17, who recently gained a full scholarship to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division 1 with Texas Tech University. Last month she was invited to play in the Hana Financial Group Championship, a professional event, in South Korea.

California Baptist University student Loh, 18, who competed in 2019, hopes that her experience in Japan will come in useful this time.

Buoyed by a tied-fourth and tied-14th finishes in recent college tournaments, she said: "I'm looking forward to competing on the international stage again and just showing everyone what I can achieve."