S’pore golfer Shannon Tan rested and ready for first Major test of the season

SINGAPORE – Victory at the German Masters on June 29 saw Shannon Tan pick up a cheque for €45,000 (S$67,500). But the Singaporean golfer also earned another cherished reward – a well-deserved break.

To celebrate her second Ladies European Tour (LET) career title, she spent five days in London to rest and recover, a priority for her this season, while tucking into some of her favourite Singaporean dishes like bak chor mee and har cheong gai (prawn paste chicken).

After that, it was back to work as the 21-year-old prepares for the Evian Championship, her first Major of the season.

She said: “Something I’ve learnt this year is how important rest is. Taking short breaks here and there has really helped me stay fresh.”

It is a significant shift from her debut season on the LET in 2024, when she played 29 events, including the Magical Kenya Ladies Open where she recorded her maiden title, which eventually led to her feeling burnt out and fatigued.

Towards the end of the season, she began experiencing pain in her right elbow, later traced to a tight rotator cuff in her shoulder.

To avoid a repeat, Tan has trimmed her schedule this season to 22 or 23 tournaments.

Her first year on tour was a steep learning curve, but it gave her invaluable experience competing on the LET.

It is no surprise then that she feels more prepared heading into the Evian Championship, which takes place from July 10 to 13.

The French tournament, staged at the Evian Resort Golf Club’s Champions Course in Evian-les-Bains, will be Tan’s third appearance at a Major.

While she missed the cut in her first outing in 2024, she progressed to the weekend at the Women’s British Open later that year, becoming only the second Singaporean to do so, after Lam Chih Bing.

She said: “Playing in the Majors last year was a huge learning experience. Just being in that environment, competing alongside some of the world’s best golfers and tackling tougher course set-ups, taught me a lot.

“Majors demand full focus on every single shot and they really expose the areas of your game that need improvement. That helped me understand where I needed to get better.

“Since then, I’ve worked hard on my short game and tightened up other parts of my game that weren’t as sharp last year.”

Tan heads into the US$8 million (S$10.2 million) tournament with confidence, following a strong 2025 season so far.

Besides the title in Germany, she has recorded four other top-10 finishes and missed the cut just once in 11 LET events.

Her consistency has propelled her into the top 100 of the world rankings, where she now sits 95th.

She said: “That win (in Germany) meant a lot to me. I had been in contention for a few weeks in a row but couldn’t quite close it out, so to finally get over the line felt like a breakthrough.

“It’s definitely given me a bit more confidence, and I hope to carry that momentum into this week.”

Evian Resort will be familiar ground for Tan, who finished runner-up at the Jabra Ladies Open on the same course in May. However, she acknowledged at the time that “the course will also likely be set up differently for a Major”.

Asked which parts of the course might play to her strengths and where the biggest challenges lie, Tan said her ball-striking and tee-to-green play will be an advantage, especially with the thick rough.

Her short game has been a key area of focus this season. Besides working closely with her coach, she recently made a switch from graphite to steel shafts in her wedges just before the German Masters – a change that has already paid dividends.

She highlighted that the biggest test will be around the greens and managing approach shots into some of the more demanding pin positions.

While she hopes to improve on her Major performances from 2024, Tan emphasised that her goals are not result-based.

Progress, she notes, is not just measured in results. One standout improvement is her scrambling – the ability to save par after missing the green in regulation – which has gone up from 39 per cent last season to 52 per cent this term.

With her eyes set on competing on the LPGA Tour, Tan is encouraged by the strides she is making.

She said: “Yes, I definitely feel like I’m on the right track. I’ve been focusing on improving specific areas of my game and becoming more consistent, and I’m starting to see that progress show up in competition.

“That (scrambling) was a big area I wanted to work on, and seeing real improvement there gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”