Singapore amateur golfer Inez Ng finishes tied-fourth at the Espirito Santo Trophy
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Singapore golfer Inez Ng placed fourth individually at the Espirito Santo Trophy in Abu Dhabi.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE GOLF ASSOCIATION
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SINGAPORE – Singapore golfer Inez Ng finished joint-fourth in the individual rankings at the Espirito Santo Trophy on Saturday, in a field that included eight of the world’s top 10 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
The 20-year-old carded a nine-under 279 total at the World Team Amateur Championships in Abu Dhabi, four strokes behind low individual scorer Hsu Huai-chien of Chinese Taipei.
Spain’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (277) and South Korean Seo Kyo-rim (278) were second and third respectively, with New Zealand’s Fiona Xu, India’s Avani Prashanth and England’s Lottie Woad tied with Ng for fourth.
Singapore Golf Association (SGA) general manager Joshua Ho said: “The performance by Inez is really commendable.
“Not only did she record Singapore’s best-ever finish at the event, she placed higher than several of the world’s top 10 amateur golfers including the world No. 1 (Swede Ingrid Lindblad who was 24th).
“This performance is a testament to her hard work and strong support system. I believe she has also benefited from the experience she has gained over the past six or seven years since she has been in the SGA squad, where she had several opportunities to compete at international competitions.”
Ng opened the tournament at Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National Course with an even-par 72, before posting 70, 68, 69 in the next three rounds.
The University of North Carolina undergraduate was also part of the Singapore team, with Aloysa Atienza and Chen Xingtong, who finished 20th with a three-over 579 total to register the Republic’s best showing at the competition.
(From left) Singapore Golf Association national coach Murray Smit, national golfers Aloysa Atienza, Chen Xingtong and Inez Ng at the Espirito Santo Trophy in Abu Dhabi.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE GOLF ASSOCIATION
The men’s team of Ryan Ang, Troy Storm and Hiroshi Tai finished joint-29th for the Eisenhower Trophy with a five-under 571 total, after the joint-lowest round score of 12-under 132 on the final day.
Ho was pleased with how the golfers fared at the competition, saying that it bodes well as Singapore prepares to host the 2025 edition of the event.
He also noted how the inclusion of Troy and Xingtong, who are both 14, is in line with the association’s move to ensure that there is a steady pipeline of talent.
He said: “We understand that they are going to be important players for us in the next few years, which is why we decided to expose them to this level of competition so early.
“They really had great experiences – Troy learnt a lot from both his teammates and everyone he played with. He showed that experience works after he won in Thailand (the B Division of the Singha Thailand Junior Championships).”
(From left) Troy Storm, Ryan Ang and Hiroshi Tai were joint 29th in the Eisenhower Trophy in Abu Dhabi.
PHOTO: SINGAPORE GOLF ASSOCIATION
He noted this was especially important with several key players such as James Leow, who won the individual gold at the 2019 SEA Games, turning professional and several others retiring in the last few years.
Ho said: “The last few years we were in a bit of a transition period where we had new players represent us at these major Games... at the same time we had to focus on junior and pipeline development to ensure sustainability.”
