macgregor junior close championship
Things didn’t get any more exciting than on the final hole of regulation play, with the pair locked in a share of the lead. Mizuno, who fired a career-best 70 (2-under-par) in the first round, looked to have sealed his first significant title after finding the green at the dangerous par-five 18th in two mighty blows. Lam, by contrast, was struggling. Carving his tee shot into the trees, he uncharacteristically chunked his third just short of the putting surface. But then came a moment of genius. With Mizuno contemplating his 35-foot eagle putt, Lam proceeded to hole his chip for the most unlikely of birdies. Lesser players may have cursed their luck and buckled, but Mizuno stood firm. Acknowledging Lam’s chip-in with a wry smile, the West Island School student calmly two-putted to force extra holes. The winners of playoffs, like those of penalty shootouts in football, generally get a helping hand along the way, usually when the opposition stumbles at the crucial juncture. And that proved to be the case here. After the pair parred the tricky first hole on the Diamond Course, Lam stood up on the tee of the par-3 second with a 6-iron. The wind had been swirling all day and it seemed to be blowing slightly into the players’ faces. Whether it was adrenaline, the purity of the strike or simply a case of having way too much club, Lam’s tee shot sailed over the green, over the cart path that loops around the back of the putting surface and Out of Bounds. It was a quite amazing error in the circumstances, but one that a stunned Lam would later go on to qualify.
Battle at the Bay
Mizuno’s time had come and he wasn’t going to falter now. With 7-iron in hand, he struck a beautiful high draw into the heart of the green, some 15 feet from the flag. After Lam failed to hole his putt for a bogey, Mizuno tidied up for par and gave a polite bow to the assembled onlookers. “I still can’t believe Steven holed that chip to make the playoff,” said Mizuno, a member at Discovery Bay. “It made my putt a lot harder afterwards, that’s for sure. But that’s golf. I’m just happy I came out on top this time.” Lam, meanwhile, was left mystified by his finish to the tournament but was full of praise for his newest rival.
Talent Galore (from far left): the champions show off the silverware, smoothswining Tiffany; Shinichi holes out on 18; Liu Loktin, who finished third, just misses out with this eagle effort; Lam finds trouble in regulation play; Isabella Leung impressed in the Girls' Division.
Shinichi secures biggest win; Tiffany successfully defends title REPORT BY ALEX JENKINS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLES MCLAUGHLIN
S
h inichi Mizuno held his nerve and Tiffany Chan outclassed the field for the second year in a row, as the teenage duo recorded two very different victories at the MacGregor Junior Close Championship at Discovery Bay Golf Club late April. Nagoya-born Mizuno overcame pre-event favourite Steven Lam with a par on the second hole of a sudden death playoff after the pair finished tied after 36 holes, while Chan eased to an 11-stroke win with a solid two-round total of 148. “It’s a great feeling to have won,” said 15-year-old Mizuno, who has risen to become one of Hong Hong’s rising stars in only three years of playing the game . “I didn’t sleep last night because I was so excited to play with Steven.”
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“I don’t know what happened [with the tee shot]. I hit the same club earlier in the day and only just made the front of the green. It’s a shame, as we were both enjoying the playoff, but Shinichi played really well to win.” In the Girls’ Division, Chan’s final round proved to be a cakewalk. Starting the day with a three-stroke advantage over the rapidly improving Isabella Leung, the 16-year-old was rarely troubled in a fine level par round of 72. “I was happy with the way I played,” said Chan, who has now won back-to-back Junior Close titles. “It’s easy to make a lot of mistakes around this course, so the goal was just to keep it in play and try and make some putts. It’s been a good week.” Cheria Heng and Leung tied on a two-round score of 157, with Stephanie Ho a further four strokes back in fourth.
results
Derek Fung stormed to victory at Fanling
Monthly Medal – Nett Section 14 March A R Hamilton won the Monthly Medal Nett Section played over the Old Course with 68 on countback from R Pyrke and R McTamaney. Deep Water Bay Championship – Gross Section 26 April R de Lacy Staunton won the Deep Water Bay Championship Gross Section played at Deep Water Bay following a sudden death playoff with R Keys. Deep Water Bay Championship – Nett Section 26 April T Orgill won the Deep Water Bay Championship Nett Section played at Deep Water Bay with 115 points on countback from H Y Hung. Monthly Medal – Gross Section 9 May R de Lacy Staunton won the Monthly Medal Gross Section played over the Eden Course. Monthly Medal – Nett Section 9 May R Pyrke won the Monthly Medal Nett Section played over the Eden Course on countback over the last 9 holes from HMV de Lacy Staunton.
Friendly Rivalry (from above): Lam congratulates Mizuno on his win; Cheria Heng enjoyed a good week at DB.
Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club Ladies Section
HKPGA Yinli HKPGA 2009 – Leg 2 Hong Kong Golf Club, New Course, 4 May (Open) Long Island G&CC, 4&5 May (Ladies)
Open Division 1 2 3= 5 11= 14= 17=
RESULTS – TOP 10 OVERALL BOYS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Shinichi Mizuno* Steven Lam Liu Lok-tin Oliver Roberts Terrence Ng Marcus Lam Charles Stone Anthony Tam Jonathan Yeung Antony Lung
(70-73) (71-72) (71-75) (76-79) (78-78) (78-80) (81-79) (80-81) (82-82) (83-82)
143 143 146 155 156 158 160 161 164 165
Derek Fung Wong Woon-man Jovick Lee David Freeman James Stewart Steven Lam (A) Shinichi Mizuno (A) Liu Lok-tin (A)
Ladies Division 1 2 3
Stephanie Ho (A) Melody Chan Betty Ng
64 66 67 67 68 72 73 74
146 (75-71) 159 (80-79) 160 (82-78)
* Won at second playoff hole RESULTS – TOP 10 OVERALL GIRLS 1 2= 4 5 6= 8 9 10
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Tiffany Chan Cheria Heng Isabella Leung Stephanie Ho Michelle Cheung Kelly Kung Mimi Ho Kanika Gandhi Michelle Ho Tse Hei-tung
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(76-72) (80-77) (79-78) (82-76) (83-80) (83-81) (82-82) (87-85) (91-84) (88-92)
Around the Clubs
148 157 157 160 163 164 164 172 175 180
The Hong Kong Golf Club
HKGOLFERMAGAZINE.COM
May Medal 6 May Division 1 Gross Winner: Nett Winner: Nett Runner-up:
Madoka Murayama (86) Winnie Lam (72) Callie Botsford (75)
Division 2 Gross Winner: Nett Winner: Nett Runner-up:
Lily Lau (97) Kanako Tanaka (73) Takako To (76)
International Team Stableford 13 May Winners: Japan: Mari Maeda, Nakako Honda, Madoka Murayama & Chikako Yabe (132 points) Runners-up: International: Diana Ting, Fizzy Pavri, Sylvia Weber & Pia Fung (122 points) May Stableford 20 May Division 1 Winner: Runner-up:
Callie Botsford (36) Mei Wu (34)
Division 2 Winner: Runner-up:
Peggy Wong (38 C/B) Liza Ho (38)
Pearman Pitcher 2009 Winners: Runners-up:
Pia Fung & Lydia Mak Anita Chu & Felicia Louey
Men’s Section
Super Seniors Trophy 11 March I Kitamura won the Super Seniors Trophy played over the Eden Course with 37 points on countback over the last nine holes from B P C Kan.
Captain’s Cup 17 May Gross Winner: Gross Runner-up: Nett Winner: Nett Runner-up:
Stuart Gethin (80) Tommy Shiu (81) Tommy Shiu (70) Ken Lee (71)
Monthly Medal – Gross Section 14 March D Williams won the Monthly Medal Gross Section played over the Old Course with 73 on countback from R McTamaney and R Pyrke.
Chairman’s Cup 17 May Winner: Runner-up:
Thomas Tsang (38) Glenn Yee (35)
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