Macgregor Junior Close Championship
Crowned Stone and Chan
Junior Champs
Heavy rain fails to dampen duo’s determined play Photography by Patrick Leung
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harles Stone kept his composure and Tiffany Chan outclassed the field, as the teenage duo recorded highly impressive victories at the MacGregor Junior Close Championship at The Hong Kong Golf Club late March. Stone, 15, carded successive 73s over the New Course to set up a six stroke victory over pre-event favourite Steven Lam in the overall Boys’ division, while Chan, 14, continued her recent fine form with a runaway victory in the Girls’ category. “It was a pretty nerve-wracking experience,” admitted 5-handicapper Stone, a member at Fanling. “Steven sets the benchmark whenever he tees it up; he’s a great player, the best of the juniors, so to finish ahead of him and to win the tournament was a great achievement. I’m delighted.” 16
HK GOLFER・MAY/JUNE 2008
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“Things were pretty intense leading up to that moment. To hole the putt… that was huge.” – Charles Stone HK GOLFER・MAY/JUNE 2008
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Above: Tiffany Chan in full swing. Below: Steven Lam celebrates his birdie at the second.
After carding a 3-over-par effort in the rainsoaked first round—a brilliant performance given the atrocious conditions—Stone held a slender one shot lead over Marcus Lam, his nearest challenger, heading into the all important final day. “The weather didn’t really affect me; I just got on with it,” said the Chinese International School student. “I struck the ball well in practice and was able to carry that through to the event. I felt comfortable.” Comfortable or not, Stone had to weather a different kind of storm in the final round, as while Marcus struggled early on, his namesake Steven, five shots back at the beginning of the day, started to make significant inroads into Stone’s lead. After a solid front nine, Stone saw his advantage almost evaporate after Lam followed a stunning eagle at the par-5 10th with a birdie at the famously tricky 15th, a hole Stone bogeyed. “Steven had the momentum, that’s for sure,” acknowledged Stone, whose lead was cut to just three shots after Lam’s fight back . The very next hole proved to be pivotal, however, as his gutsy par save [see sidebar] triggered a Lam three-putt, and with his confidence restored, Stone was able to cruise to a much deserved first title.
Over a lengthy layout—soft conditions meant the 6,200 yard New Course played as long as a typical LPGA venue—Tiffany Chan underlined her massive potential with a ten stroke victory over her best friend and defending champion Stephanie Ho. With Demi Mak, the Ladies’ Close Amateur victor, missing the event through illness, the in-form Chan excelled, firing a closing three-over-par 74 for her maiden MacGregor victory. Fine golf aside, Chan, currently the topranked under-15 player in the region after triumphing at the Greater China Challenge in Shenzhen at the beginning of the year, showed tremendous presence of mind after a possibly disastrous rules infringement in the first round. After driving into casual water, the Diocesan Girls’ student took relief; but instead of dropping the ball, as stipulated by the Rules of Golf, she placed it. “Before signing my card, I thought back to that situation and asked for confirmation on the rule, as I wanted to make sure I had done the right thing,” she said. Unfortunately for Chan, she hadn’t, but although her “careless mistake” resulted in a two-stroke penalty— turning a 78 into an 80—the fact that she sought clarification before signing her card meant she was able to avoid possible disqualification and go on to win the tournament. “Tiffany handled the situation very well,” said Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Golf Association Iain Valentine. “Despite making the original mistake, seeking the guidance of the tournament officials was exactly the right thing to do. Her actions have set a very good example to her fellow junior golfers and she is a very worthy champion.”
The winners with MacGregor’s Johnny Wong Marcus Lam
Despite his eventual margin of victory, it wasn’t all plain sailing for Charles Stone. His lead cut to three after a resurgent Steven Lam clawed his way back into contention, the decisive point of the championship came at the par-4 16th. With Lam sitting pretty on the putting surface within birdie range, Stone fanned his approach wide of the green and into a difficult lie in the rough. A flop shot to twenty feet meant he was still away, but showing the courage that belied his nerves, Stone rammed home the putt for an amazing par save. Stunned, Lam proceeded to three putt from a similar distance after running his first effort four feet past the hole. “It got away from me…it was much quicker than I expected,” admitted Lam. For Stone, the silverware was now all but in his grasp. “I breathed a big sigh of relief on the next tee,” he grinned. “Things were pretty intense leading up to that moment. To hole the putt…that was huge.”
HK GOLFER・MAY/JUNE 2008
RESULTS–TOP 10 OVERALL BOYS 1 Charles Stone 73-73 146 2 Steven Lam 78-74 152 3 Oliver Roberts 78-75 153 3 Marcus Lam 74-79 153 5 Anthony Tam 82-76 158 5 Terence Ng 80-78 158 7 Tom Scott 81-80 161 8 Shinichi Mizuno 85-77 162 8 Lionel Chan 80-82 162 10 Jeremy Wong 82-82 164
Lyra Yoe Kitty Tam
Oliver Roberts WWW.HKGA.COM
Sihao Yan
Stephanie Ho
MAJOR MOMENT
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Sibo Yan
WWW.HKGA.COM
RESULTS–TOP 10 OVERALL GIRLS 1 Tiffany Chan 80-74 154 2 Stephanie Ho 80-84 164 3 Lyra Yoe 84-81 165 4 Nicola Inge 82-84 166 5 Ginger Mak 91-78 169 6 Michelle Ho 85-87 172 7 Kelly Kung 85-89 174 8 Cheria Heng 90-87 177 9 Tammy Thielke 90-88 178 10 Jolia Lo 94-91 185 HK GOLFER・MAY/JUNE 2008
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