14-05-2025
After tightest of contests, Orchid Country Club are champions of BT Corporate Golf League
[SINGAPORE] IT was the tightest of finishes in the 14-year history of The Business Times Corporate Golf League presented by Singapore Pools tournament.
The well-assembled team from Orchid Country Club edged out Singapore Global Trust (SGT) by just one point to clinch the overall championship at the end of the fifth and final leg held at Sentosa Golf Club on Friday (May 9).
Orchid Country Club amassed a grand total of 527 points after the five legs, thanks to a brilliant 144 total from four players in the final round. SGT managed 141 as they lost their grip on the top spot that they had held for the first four rounds.
Team Boss finished a further point behind in third place, after a fifth-leg score of 148 points.
Singapore Golf Association league golfer Bryan Chen (course handicap 13) spearheaded the Orchid Country Club fightback with 38 points from an 11-over 83 on Sentosa Golf Club's tough Serapong course.
Gavin De Luna (handicap 11, 37 points), Phillion Chen (handicap 9, 36 points) and Melvyn Tan (handicap 14, 33) added to the team's tally.
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SGT's points came from Kenneth Oh (36), Jimmy Wong (36), Winson Oh (35) and Chen Xingtong (34).
The golfers from Singapore Global Trust with BT Editor Chen Huifen (extreme right). SGT was the first runner-up, finishing just a point behind Orchid Country Club. PHOTO: SPH MEDIA
On a hot and humid day, the scores were relatively high on a championship layout that had broken even many low handicappers because of the rough and bunker-littered holes.
But there were some surprise scores too, such as the 148 total from Team Boss, in which Steven Lam (38 points), John Lim (37), Andre Huber (37) and Marilyn Lum (36) all contributed significantly with their impressive hauls.
There were individual highlights aplenty, notably Team Gayatri's national player Troy Storm's six-under 66 buoyed by seven birdies and rued by just one bogey.
However, his high-placed plus-5 course handicap accorded him 37 points in Gayatri's 138 total for the restaurant's fourth-place finish on 509 points among nine teams.
The best individual finisher was SPH Media's Tim Pinnegar, a seasoned six-handicapper who shot a fantastic 70 for the maximum 40 points.
This was the freelance golf writer's personal best score on Serapong – four shots better than his previous mark.
The 62-year-old bagged four birdies – on the sixth, ninth, 11th and 14th holes – and suffered just two bogeys in a round where points came from all 18 holes.
'I played above myself, and got some remarkable shots. It was just my day,' he said.
Orchid Country Club's general manager Melvyn Tan admitted that he was 'a little surprised' by his team's comeback victory, having been three points behind at the start of play.
'Anyway, our primary objective of taking part (in the Corporate Golf League) was not to win, but to enjoy the opportunity to connect and re-connect with the wider golfing community and friends. It was a rewarding experience for us,' he said.
The best individual golfer in the social category was Mitsubishi Electric's Lim Han Ren (course handicap 7) with 39 points from a four-over 76.
Lim also carried Mitsubishi to the team title, with Michael Ng, Allan Tan and Jonathan Yeo contributing to their total of 112 points from three scores.
Performance Motors' Allen Gong claimed the longest-drive prize with a 290-metre shot. And in the lucky draw held during the dinner, SPH Media's Sreerangan Kurup won the bonus prize of a Franck Muller Damascus Steel watch.
