S'pore quintet chase golfing dream in U.S.

With limited opportunities in the region due to the coronavirus pandemic, Singapore golf professionals Koh Dengshan, Jesse Yap, Gregory Foo and Abdul Hadi Uda Thith, as well as local amateur Nicklaus Chiam, have travelled to the United States to try and qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour, the developmental tour for the US PGA Tour.

Koh, Foo and Hadi will compete in the first stage at Winter Garden, Florida from today till Friday. After coming through pre-qualifying, Chiam is playing at Maricopa, Arizona from yesterday till Friday, while Yap's first round is at Dayton, Nevada from Sept 28-Oct 1.

If they make it through the first and second rounds, they will make the final stage, from which the top 45 finishers (and ties) will earn a regular spot on the Korn Ferry Tour in the upcoming season.

Before the pandemic struck, things had looked rosy for Hadi, 26, who within five months of turning pro in 2018 became the first Singaporean to win the 2019 PGA Tour Series-China qualifying tournament.

He made about US$15,000 (S$20,300) in 2019 and was aiming to improve by playing on the Asian Development Tour and Middle East and North Africa Tour, but the Covid-19 pandemic put paid to those plans.

Nevertheless, Hadi kept going and won the sixth and seventh legs of the Singapore Pro Series Invitational Presented by FTAG last month before he flew to the US with housemate Foo.

He said: "My ultimate goal is to play on the US PGA Tour so this is the most obvious pathway towards that goal. Going to the US was also pretty much my only option because of the travel restrictions in other countries.

"I'm glad to be back travelling and playing again. It can feel really lonely if you're by yourself, especially if it's a long stretch, so it's great to have friends like Greg and Dengshan to do this together with."

Foo, a member of the SEA Games-winning team in 2017 and winner of the second leg of the Singapore Pro Series Invitational, has also found the going tough because of the global scheduling upheaval. He continues to play the sport while teaching at Tanah Merah Country Club.

The 27-year-old, who turned pro in 2018, said: "Like many of my peers, I didn't compete much until early this year, so my game definitely wasn't that sharp.

"Fortunately, we've been able to compete in local events over the last few months which has been very helpful.

"Over here in the States, there are so many golf courses and it's quite easy to get a tee time compared to Singapore. Everything is quite open and normal over here, there are no restrictions other than having to wear face masks."

Koh's last international event was the Bandar Malaysia Open on the Asian Tour in March last year and he has coached at the Sentosa Golf Club.

The 33-year-old travelled to the US a couple of weeks earlier than Hadi and Foo, worked with a fitness trainer at the Orlando Golf Performance centre and found a coach in former US PGA Tour player Skip Kendall.

He also worked with a mental coach and went for AimPoint - a green reading system - and biomechanics lessons. Koh, who is accompanied by his fiancee, said: "I want to venture out of my comfort zone and see how far I can go. The fact that there's no need to quarantine upon arrival in the US was another incentive.

"It's been an eye opener and a great learning experience. There are many good players and the standards are really high here."

Even if they do not qualify, the trio will remain in the US until at least November to work on their game and play in PGA Tour event qualifiers or other mini-tour events.

Vernon Khoo, Singapore Golf Association (SGA) training and development committee chairman, commended their endeavour. He said: "SGA has been supporting these professionals by organising tournaments for them to maintain their competitiveness.

"We have also provided the SGA professionals with financial and technical support, including psychological skills sessions which have been ongoing since July."