Latest news with #EspiritoSantoTrophy
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Golfer Chen Xingtong looks to build on US stint for World Amateur Team Championships
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Chen Xingtong is looking forward to her second outing at the World Amateur Team Championships, which will be held in Singapore from Oct 1 to 11. SINGAPORE – When Chen Xingtong made her debut at the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC) in 2023, the Singaporean golfer felt a mix of nerves and excitement. Playing alongside Sweden's world No. 1 amateur Ingrid Lindblad in the first two rounds, Xingtong was tested from the start. But the teenager took it as a learning experience, paying close attention to the different aspects of her flight mate's game. In Abu Dhabi, she finished 101st in the individual standings and was part of the women's team alongside Inez Ng and Aloysa Atienza who tied for 20th, which was Singapore's best result at the tournament. Since then, the 16-year-old has steadily built on her international experience and is looking forward to a return, after being named in the 2025 WATC squad by the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) on Aug 14. She said: 'There were a lot of really important takeaways from watching the best in the world, just learning from how they do it and trying to take small bits of their routine to integrate into my own. 'I definitely have a bit more experience than the last time I was in this position, excited and eagerly anticipating the tournament.' The Singapore Sports School (SSP) student will team up with Ng – who finished joint-fourth in 2023 – and Valencia Chang at the Tanah Merah Country Club's (TMCC) Tampines Course as they compete for the Espirito Santo Trophy from Oct 1 to 4. In the men's competition, the team will feature Hiroshi Tai, Brayden Lee and Troy Storm, as they battle for the Eisenhower Trophy from Oct 8 to 11. Tai, 23, was the first Singaporean to feature at the 2024 US Open and 2025 Masters after winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title in 2024. Xingtong is feeling confident after a fruitful stint in the United States, where she finished second at the US Girls' Junior Championship in July. In her historic run to the final, she was defeated 2 and 1 by Canada's eventual champion Aphrodite Deng at the Atlanta Athletic Club's Riverside Course. She said: 'I'm more confident coming into this event, still just trying to enjoy myself on and off the course for this event and staying patient. 'It was really fun to be able to make such a deep run and meet up with some of my good friends during the tournament.' Her performance across the seven-day tournament also proved to Xingtong what she is capable of mentally and physically. She added: 'US Girls' was seven days straight, with 36 holes the last four days which is really taxing on the mind and body, but I'm really glad to have gone through all that because it shows that I can handle it.' All these experiences are crucial for the world No. 192 amateur, who is looking to study and play college golf in the US from 2028. Xingtong, who is currently pursuing the Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at SSP, noted that the US would be crucial for her growth as 'many of the world's best amateurs go there to compete and study', before she decides whether to turn professional. Noting the progress in Xingtong's game, national coach Murray Smit attributed it to the technical work she has done with her coach Skye Neale at Sentosa Golf Club, coupled with 'improved preparation and strategy when building up to tournament'. With the WATC approaching, Smit said the team have ramped up their preparations in a bid for best-ever team finishes in both the men's and women's competitions. For the men, their best finish was in 2022, when Tai, James Leow and Ryan Ang came in 21st. Ahead of the championships, the golfers – including Tai and Ng who returned from US during their summer break – attended a training camp at TMCC, while getting tips and insights from some of the local professionals who have competed on the course. Smit said: 'Ultimately the players will come in prepared and ready, and then it's just about enjoying what will be one of the most memorable weeks of these players' careers, competing on home soil in the biggest amateur team event in golf.'
Business Times
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Business Times
IGF chief lauds Singapore's successful bid to host world amateur golf event in October
SINGAPORE is gearing up to stage the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC) golf event in October, a biennial international amateur competition organised by the International Golf Federation (IGF). With just weeks to go until the big tee-off at the Tampines course at Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC), the preparations have received the thumbs-up from IGF's executive director, Antony Scanlon. In an interview with The Business Times during his recent visit to Singapore, he said: 'The Singapore Golf Association (SGA) presented a fabulous bid, and we recognised its merit during the bidding process. We were also impressed by the quality of the challenging Tampines course, and the deep commitment shown by the SGA officials.' Singapore and Morocco were on the shortlist at the IGF's last biennial meeting in Paris last year. It was agreed unanimously that the Republic would stage the 2025 event, and Morocco, the 2027 one. In Singapore, the women's competition for the Espirito Santo Trophy will take place from Oct 1 to 4, followed by the men's competition for the Eisenhower Trophy from Oct 8 to 11. The field has been cut from 72 to 36 teams, with the team from Singapore gaining automatic qualification. Each team has two or three players and plays 18-holes of stroke play for four days. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team's score for the championship. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up Scanlon, a 60-year-old Australian, said of the WATC: 'A significant number of top amateurs who play in this tournament eventually progress to the professional ranks, including participation in major championships. In fact, 70 to 80 per cent of the golfers who play at the Olympics today previously competed in the WATC.' The last championships in 2023 were held at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club's National course in the United Arab Emirates. South Korea won the women's event for the fifth time, while the United States took the men's crown. The values of golf The IGF, which is based in Lausanne, Switzerland, is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the international federation for golf. It is the umbrella body for the national governing bodies of golf in 152 countries. In addition to the WATC, the federation also organises the golf competitions at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games. Scanlon, who defeated 70 candidates for the IGF's top job in 2010, is a nine-handicapper who picked up the sport at age six. He also once played rugby and cricket competitively. During his trip to Singapore, he took the opportunity to play at TMCC's award-winning Tampines course and Sentosa Golf Club's famed Serapong course. While he had much praise for Singapore as a destination for golf, he called on Singapore's national golf association and the many golf clubs across the island to do more to promote the sport. Even as the number of courses here is set to shrink as the government renews fewer of their leases, Scanlon said that stakeholders should raise the awareness that golf is back as an Olympic sport, and that every effort should be made to ensure Singapore's continued presence at the quadrennial event. In the Paris games last year, Shannon Tan became Singapore's first Olympic golfer. Scanlon was among the prime movers for golf's reinstatement in the Olympic programme at the Rio Games in 2016, after having been absent for 112 years. He urged stakeholders to impress upon the authorities the many positives that golf brings. 'All we can do is to continue to speak loudly about the values of golf. Golf instils strong values such as honesty, integrity and patience. It promotes not just activity, but also mental well-being. We should publicise these.' Asked about what the SGA could do to keep golf alive and buzzing in Singapore despite the challenges, he said: 'Around the world, golf is buzzing; the playing population and spectatorship are growing. I hear that in Singapore, it is growing at a fast pace too, although the clubs are getting fewer.' Scanlon also pointed out the vast green spaces of golf courses could also be used by non-golfers in some instances. 'These spaces can be used by the public for pursuits such as walking or other forms of exercise, like taichi. The famous St Andrews courses in Scotland are closed every Sunday, and people take the chance to walk their dogs or exercise around the greenery,' he said.
