SINGAPORE – The Singapore Golf Association’s (SGA) ambitions of getting a golfer on the world stage were given a boost on Friday when the local branch of Swiss private bank EFG International pledged $300,000 to support youth development.
The funds from the partnership between the SGA and EFG, which spans three years with the option of a three-year extension, will be divided between the new EFG-SGA Elite Young Golfers Scholarship and SGA’s junior development programme.
The one-year scholarship will provide three or four golfers under the age of 30 with financial support to cover different aspects of training such as sport science, as well as their participation in overseas tournaments and training stints.
SGA vice-president Ivan Chua said: “We are delighted to partner EFG, which has always been supportive of young golfing talents.
“This new scholarship represents an exciting opportunity for our athletes and will help to raise the profile of golf in Singapore.
“We look forward to working closely with EFG to provide the right platform for future golf stars and to discover new talents, as well as to promote and develop our vision of the sport in terms of victories and world rankings.”
SGA general manager Joshua Ho added that the association hopes the support from this partnership will create the pathway for one of Singapore’s golfers to achieve a similar level of success as Tiffany Chan, the first golfer from Hong Kong to qualify for the Olympics and the LPGA Tour, the top tier of women’s professional golf.
Chan, 29, was awarded a scholarship by EFG to pursue her studies in the United States and is one of its global sport ambassadors.
Other athletes that EFG has backed include Vincent Capol, Hong Kong’s top equestrian, and Arianna Lau, one of Hong Kong’s top junior golfers.
Ho said the aim was “for the beneficiaries of the sponsorship to make it to the world stage”.
Albert Chiu, executive chairman of EFG bank for the Asia-Pacific region, believes that Singapore has talented golfers who can make it on the world stage, with a number achieving success in regional and international competitions in recent years.
James Leow, who claimed Singapore’s first men’s individual golf gold in 30 years at the SEA Games in 2019, has won several competitions in the United States, including July’s Pacific Coast Amateur Championship.
In November, the Singapore team were second at the Nomura Cup in the Philippines, their best finish in the competition. The month before, Hiroshi Tai claimed the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational title in the US.
Chiu said: “We are committed to supporting these junior athletes – who are entrepreneurs in their own right – by providing them with opportunities to demonstrate their talents while also raising the profile of this sport.”
Other corporate sponsors that the SGA has worked with include Borneo Motors Singapore, the sole distributor for Lexus in Singapore, which signed a three-year partnership with the association in 2021.
Koh Sock Hwee, an EFG-sponsored golfer and a double bronze medallist at the SEA Games, welcomed the support. EFG began sponsoring the 32-year-old four years ago after she turned pro in 2016. She has played on both the China and Taiwan LPGA tours, and competed in the US in 2022.
She said: “It was a good boost at the start of my career. It’s nice to be backed by somebody who actually believes in you and makes your life a little bit easier, especially after you turn professional and everything’s on your own.”
Arianna is hoping to make the cut for the Asian Games in 2023, and believes that the support she has received by being an EFG Young Athletes Foundation Scholar in Hong Kong will help her reach her goals as it has given her the opportunity to train and compete more overseas.
The 15-year-old, who is aiming to play on the LPGA Tour one day, said: “Travelling overseas to all these places, and taking part in these high-level junior and amateur events has been really eye-opening. All the exposure is really good for me for the future as well.”
