Singapore golfer Shannon Tan slips to second, remains in the hunt for Asiad medal

NAGOYA – The stakes could not be higher for Shannon Tan on Oct 3, when she tees off in the final round of the women’s individual event in a bid for a historic Asian Games medal for Singapore.

On Oct 2, she carded three birdies and four bogeys for a one-over 71 at the Kasugai Country Club East Course to see her two-shot lead at the halfway mark evaporate on a windy day.

After making a poor start with three bogeys on her first 10 holes, she went on a birdie run from No. 11 to 13 but dropped another shot at the 14th hole for a 12-under 198 total.

India’s Pranavi Sharath Urs seized the opportunity to leapfrog Tan and move three shots ahead with a four-under 66 and 15-under 195 total.

China’s 2023 Women’s PGA Championship winner Yin Ruoning also shot a 66 and was third on a three-round 199 score.

The 22-year-old Tan said: “It was definitely tougher out there today – wind picked up and a few of the tee boxes were pushed further back, so some of the holes played longer than they had over the first two days. There were also some tougher pin positions.

“My ball striking wasn’t quite as good as it was over the first two days, and I didn’t really make many putts either. But I’m still in a good position going into tomorrow.

“There’s still a lot of golf to play, so I’ll stick to my game plan, stay patient and try to put together a solid round. If I do that, hopefully I’ll give myself a chance.”

While Tan, who led after the first two rounds, ceded top spot to the red-hot Indian, the 2025 Ladies European Tour Order of Merit winner remains on track to write her name into Singapore’s history books.

Sharath Urs, meanwhile, is embracing the pressure of being in the final group at the business end of the tournament.

The 23-year-old, who dropped just one shot on the 14th hole, said: “It’s always good to be in contention. Unfortunately, there haven’t been a lot of times where I’ve been in contention on tour. So, to get this kind of momentum... is a good sign.”

She then cheekily challenged her country’s men’s cricket team who are playing their final against Pakistan on Oct 3. “For a change, they should come watch us,” she said.

“A lot of the cricketers are golfers now, including (former World Cup winner) Yuvraj Singh. I’ve played with him a few times, he’s a very good player who hits the ball miles but it can go on either side. I think (former India men’s cricket captain) Virat Kohli should start golf, he would make golf so popular in India.”

In the women’s team event, Team Singapore’s medal chances took a hit, when Chen Xingtong and Amanda Tan signed off their third round with an eight-over 78 and 75 respectively to tie for 26th with similar 10-over 220 totals.

As the team event uses the scores of the two lowest-scoring golfers, the Republic fell out of the medal spots as the trio dropped from second to fifth with a five-under 415, 10 strokes behind leaders China, six adrift of second-placed India, and four from Hong Kong in third.

In the men’s individual competition, Hiroshi Tai shot an eagle, two birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey for a one-under 69 in Round 3. He climbed to joint-19th with a one-under 209 total, 11 strokes behind South Korean leader Tom Kim.

Fellow Singaporean James Leow mixed six birdies with three bogeys for a three-under 67 and two-over 212 total to improve to joint-26th.

Along with teammate Nicklaus Chiam, who missed the halfway cut, the Singaporean trio are 10th in the men’s team event with a one-over 421 total, 21 shots behind leaders South Korea.