Individual, team titles and record all in the bag for Singaporean golfer Inez Ng at US event

SINGAPORE –Singaporean golfer Inez Ng had a day to remember in her budding sporting career as she clinched her first collegiate crown in the United States on Sept 24.

But at 9am the following day – barely 20 hours later – it was back to reality as the University of North Carolina (UNC) third-year student turned her focus from the greens to an introduction to programming class, with an international relations and global politics lecture to follow.

A team celebration over dinner has also been planned after she clinched not only the individual title and the overall team championship with her UNC teammates at the Cavalier Regional Preview women’s golf tournament, but also set a record.

It was a dominant display from the 21-year-old national golfer, who captured the individual title by eight strokes.

Mixing five birdies with a bogey, she closed with a four-under 67, helping her win the 54-hole event with a 12-under 201 total at the University of Virginia’s Birdwood Golf Course.

Amanda Sambach (69) of University of Virginia and Ng’s teammate Megan Streicher (69) were tied for second on four-under 209 in the 71-player event.

Ng’s performance saw the Singapore Sports School alumna better the all-time UNC record for strokes in a 54-hole tournament by three shots, said the UNC Athletics website.

The previous mark of 204 was set by Krista Junkkari in the Cougar Classic in 2021 and Kelly Whaley in the Briar’s Creek Invitational in 2018.

Attributing her win to a mentality of just “having fun”, Ng said: “I didn’t play very well at our last tournament (joint-51st at Folds of Honor Collegiate), so I tried to change my mindset into having more fun while competing. I play my best when having fun and not thinking about the result.

“This win is definitely very special as it is my first college win.”

UNC also defeated 11 teams to capture the overall championship after they shot 278-271-281 for a 22-under 830 total.

University of Virginia, the hosts, were second on four-under 848, while University of Tennessee finished third at 16 over, 38 strokes behind UNC.

Ng and her teammates drove back to campus right after finishing their rounds. When asked how they celebrated, she said: “The team got some cookies when we got back home. We will also be having a team dinner to celebrate the team win.”

UNC coach Aimee Neff said on the university’s website that she was “incredibly proud of the team... despite the weather and conditions that were really tough”.

She added: “We battled but had consistency from top to bottom with Inez and Megan going one-two, and five players in the top 10. Inez just had a really impressive performance to win by eight. She was so steady, even birdying two of her last three holes with a big lead.”

Ng’s double victory comes almost a year after an attention-grabbing performance in Abu Dhabi, where she finished joint-fourth in the individual rankings of the Espirito Santo Trophy at the World Team Amateur Championships.

Her nine-under 279 total in a field that included eight of the world’s top 10 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in October 2023 was also Singapore’s best finish at the event.

With her latest milestone, she has not only rewritten the records, but also received a confidence boost.

“It feels good to know that I am doing the right things in training and that I have the ability to win anywhere in the world,” she said.