Singaporean golfer Gregory Foo secures Asian Tour card for 2026 season

SINGAPORE – As Gregory Foo made his way through the final stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School from Dec 17 to 21, his yardage book served as more than just a tool for recording details of his round.

Inside was a note containing reminders such as “Stay in the present” and “One shot at a time”, words that proved pivotal to his breakthrough at the Lake View Resort and Golf Club in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Those handwritten mantras helped Foo finally earn an Asian Tour card after multiple attempts, as he carded an even-par 71 on the final day of the five-round tournament to end the week on six-under 349, placing tied-19th alongside eight others.

Finishing in the top 35 helped him secure playing status on the Tour for 2026.

He was 10 strokes behind tournament winner Lin Yuxin from China, who signed off with a 16-under 339 total after shooting a 67 in the final round. India’s Shaurya Bhattacharya (72) was a shot behind on second, while Canada’s Henry Lee (70) finished a further stroke adrift in third.

Foo, 32, said: “The first few times I put a lot of pressure on myself to play well and perform and as I played more Q-Schools, not just the Asian Tour, all those experiences helped and this week I handled myself a little bit better.

“I did a better job by staying more present, trying to take it one day at a time, one shot at a time.

“Even when I let my mind wander, I was able to bring myself back more often.”

The final stage was contested over five rounds. After 36 holes, the leading 140 players and ties from the 200-player field advanced to rounds three and four, before a further cut after 72 holes reduced the field to the leading 70 players and ties for the final round.

Two other Singaporeans Nicklaus Chiam and Koh Dengshan missed the second cut.

Foo opened strongly with a five-under 66, followed by rounds of 70, 72 and 70.

The world No. 1,390 stayed steady on the final day, mixing four birdies and four bogeys to post a 71 and remain in contention for a card.

After completing his round, however, he endured a nervy wait for the rest of the field to be done.

It was only about an hour later that he was able to relax, when he realised that he was mathematically more or less assured of qualifying for next season’s Asian Tour.

The closest Foo, who turned professional in 2018, had previously gotten to earning a card was in 2023, when he made it to the final stage of Q-School, but finished 69th.

On playing on the Asian Tour, he said: “I’m looking forward to playing in new places. The goal is to retain Tour status for the next year and a personal goal is still to win my first professional event internationally.”

Foo will join compatriot James Leow on the Asian Tour in 2026. Leow got his card in November, after winning the Aramco Invitational Tournament, a result that lifted him to fourth on the Asian Development Tour’s Order of Merit and earned him one of the 10 cards on offer.

Only a handful of Singapore golfers have earned full status on the regional circuit. The others are Mardan Mamat, a five-time winner on the Tour, as well as Lam Chih Bing, Quincy Quek and Choo Tze Huang.

Excited to be playing on the circuit with Leow, Foo said: “I have travelled with him quite a bit, we played quite a bit in China.

“It was quite inspiring for him to win (the Aramco Invitational Tournament), it’s nice to have someone familiar.”

There have been some encouraging results from Singapore’s professionals in 2025. Apart from Foo and Leow’s breakthroughs, Shannon Tan also made history by winning the Ladies European Tour Order of Merit.

All three are part of the Singapore Golf Association’s (SGA) Professional Programme, which is enhanced through its partnership with Radar Tyres, that currently backs 12 touring professionals with technical and financial support.

SGA chief executive Joshua Ho noted that in addition to helping them compete on international professional tours, the programme also plays a key role in developing players for major Games like the Asian Games and the Olympics, where professional golfers are eligible to compete. He shared that the association plans to further strengthen the programme and is in the midst of recruiting a professional squad manager from early 2026.

Ho believes that the staging of events such as the Moutai Singapore Open, which returned to the Republic in November after three years, has provided players with valuable experience too.

He added: “It is great to see Gregory earn his Asian Tour card after five days of extremely tough competition at Q-School. To have both Gregory and James secure their cards is significant, and it reflects the growing depth and quality of our professional golfers.

“Coupled with Shannon’s outstanding achievement in winning the LET Order of Merit, it’s encouraging to see our players flying the Singapore flag proudly on the international stage.”