Singapore golfers tee off their Asiad challenge
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National golf coach Murray Smit (from left) with Singaporean golfers Gregory Foo, James Leow, Aloysa Atienza, Amanda Tan, Koh Sock Hwee, Koh Dengshan, and Ryan Ang.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE GOLF ASSOCIATION
Calvin Koh
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HANGZHOU – Singapore will get their Asian Games golf campaign under way on Thursday with national coach Murray Smit confident that his charges will punch above their weight when they tee off at the West Lake International Golf Course.
Singapore will be represented by James Leow, Koh Dengshan, Gregory Foo, Ryan Ang, Aloysa Atienza, Amanda Tan and Koh Sock Hwee in the continental showpiece, which also sees professionals compete for the first time.
Smit said: “There is no doubt the other countries will bring extremely strong sides. It is also going to be interesting to see the make-up of those teams as it is now a mix of professional and amateur players.
“We have seven brilliant players in our own team, who have all achieved a lot in their own right. They have all been playing a lot of events and working hard on their respective games over the last few months. A medal of any sort would be a wonderful achievement and I certainly believe that we have the players capable of achieving that.”
Dengshan, who will play alongside Bangladeshi Jamal Hossain and Vietnam’s Nhat Long Nguyen in the opening round, is excited to don national colours for the first time after more than a decade.
The 35-year-old, who plays on the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour, said: “The last time I was in the national team was when I competed as an amateur about 11 years ago. I’m definitely very excited as professionals can now play for our country – not only as an individual but also in team event and that really motivates everyone to do their best daily.”
Leow, who ended Singapore’s 30-year wait for an individual golf gold at the 2019 SEA Games, is hoping to repeat his heroics on a bigger stage.
The 26-year-old won the Thunderbird Collegiate and the Pacific Coast Amateur titles in the United States and also represented the Team International side that beat the United States at the prestigious Arnold Palmer Cup in 2022.
He said: “There’s definitely loads of country pride when you’re selected to represent your country but, at the same time, there’s some pressure and nerves to compete and come out on top against other Asian countries’ top golfers.”
Leow has been grouped with Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman, an Asian Tour winner, and Vietnam’s Le Khanh Hung for his first round.
Atienza, who won a silver at the Hanoi SEA Games in 2022, believes her time in the US – where she is aiming to make her breakthrough on the LPGA Tour – will give her the confidence for a good showing.
She will tee off alongside South Korea’s Yoo Hyun-jo and Chinese Taipei’s Huang Ting-hsuan. The 24-year-old said: “I have been in the US for the last three months, where I’ve been training and competing. Having to adapt to the different golf courses and conditions trains me to be more adaptable wherever I go.
“For the Asian Games, my goal and focus would be on myself, to play the best golf I possibly can in every given circumstances.”
The Hangzhou Games golf competition will have both individual and team events over four rounds of strokeplay. For the team category, the three best scores from four male players and the two best scores from three female players in each round are combined to determine the medallists.
