hkga
From the President The first few months of the New Year is always a busy period for the Hong Kong Golf Association – and 2010 hasn’t proved any different, with a number of tournaments taking place during this time. As reported in the last issue of HK Golfer, the Hong Kong Seniors Open, which was held at the Hong Kong Golf Club, proved to be a great success and attracted many overseas players. The tournament was won by the highly talented Stefan Albinski of Australia. The start of this year, however, was highlighted by the Montrose Fine Wines Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship, which was won in brilliant style by up-andcoming-youngster Liu Lok-tin. As I mentioned in my last letter, it was my hope that junior golfers would do well at Hong Kong’s prestigious local men’s tournament, and my wish was granted with an almost flawless display by the 16-yearold in very difficult weather conditions over the Lunar New Year holiday. Lok-tin, who has been a part of the HKGA’s Junior Development Programme for many years, won in quite brilliant style, defeating his nearest opponent by 10 shots. He was full of confidence heading into the event, having won the HSBC China Junior Open just two weeks previously, and never looked liked faltering. It’s this kind of performance which I hope he can replicate on the international men’s stage, where he can really make a name for himself. His opportunity will come at the Hong Kong Open in November, which he qualified by
winning the Close Amateur Championship. I am sure that he will be looking forward to teeing it up with the greatest names in golf, and I wish him the best of luck. In the ladies’ equivalent event, which took place at the end of March, Tiffany Chan overcame her opponents with a magnificent display by shooting round of 72, 69 and 68 over three days at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club. The Diocesan Girls’ School student, another of the HKGA Junior Development Programme’s young talents was in sparkling form, defeating the reigning champion – Stephanie Ho, another junior – by a large margin. Tiffany has won countless tournaments in Hong Kong and overseas, so it was wonderful to see her finally triumph at the Close, which is considered the premier local ladies’ event. The success of the HKGA’s Junior Development Programme wouldn’t be possible without the help of our corporate sponsors, so I’m delighted to say that EFG Bank has pledged to continue their support. Albert Chiu, the bank’s chief executive for Asia, made the announcement during the EFG Bank Junior Golf prize presentation dinner held at the Hong Kong Football Club in February. Needless to say, EFG’s role in the development of golf in Hong Kong is unsurpassed, and I’d like to offer my sincere thanks once again for placing their faith in the HKGA.
—William Chung President HKGA
EFG Continues Support of HK Juniors
EFG Bank has confirmed that it is continuing their support of the Hong Kong Golf Association’s Junior Development Programme. The announcement was made by Albert Chiu, chief executive for Asia, at the EFG Bank Junior Golf prize presentation dinner held at the Hong Kong Football Club in February. The Zurich-based bank, which has a presence throughout the region, contributes HK$1 million annually to the HKGA for the development of young golfers in Hong Kong. Chiu (third right) is seen here with Robert Chiu, EFG Bank’s executive chairman for Asia (second right) and HKGA president William Chung.
HKGC Reign Supreme at Inter-Club
Patrick Leung
The Hong Kong Golf Club has won their third consecutive HKGA Inter-Club League Premier Division title. The club won three of their four matches played to finish ahead of Discovery Bay Golf Club in second place by two points. Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club placed third, a further two points adrift. HKGC members Anthony Taylor, Victor Ma and Stuart Murray are seen here collecting their silverware from HKGA president William Chung. In the First Division, DBGC finished on top, winning four and halving one of their six matches. They pipped HKGC into second place, with Clearwater Bay in third. The 2010 Inter-Club League will be sponsored by Julius Baer. 42
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Anything but Close Liu Lok-tin came of age at the Montrose Fine Wines Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship, trouncing the field by a whopping ten shots REPORT BY ALEX JENKINS PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLES McLAUGHLIN
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Max Wong was crowned Mid-Amateur champ
Shinichi Mizuno carded three 73s
C
onfidence, as any self-help book will tell you, breeds success. Liu Lok-tin knows this more than most. Having bagged his first significant title only two weeks previously at the HSBC China Junior Open in Hainan, the strapping 16-year-old arrived at Fanling over the Lunar New Year brimming with the stuff and duly destroyed the field at the Montrose Fine Wines Hong Kong Close A mateur Championship. Armed with one of the longest drives in Hong Kong amateur golf and a red-hot putter, Liu, unlike his rivals, ignored the cold and generally miserable conditions to canter to a ten-stroke victory. In terms of performances, it was arguably the most dominant in the event’s recent history. “I felt good all week,” said a clearly delighted but humble Liu, who fired a final round of level par 70 for a four day total of 287 (seven-overpar). “I’ve never been so confident on the golf course.” Although Liu entered the tournament in a rich vein of form, it would have taken a brave punter to back him to win before the start of the event. While Roderick Staunton was missing, reigning champion Steven Lam, former winner Max Wong and the highly rated Tim Orgill were all there – and all were highly fancied to put in strong showings. While Liu had finished second to Lam in the same event last year – thanks largely to a brilliant 67 in the third round – there were still a few doubts concerning his consistency. Having the tendency to blow hot and cold in tournaments past, Liu has seemingly laid those issues to rest with some conviction. At six-foot-five and nearly 200 pounds, Liu has long had the power to overawe courses. 44
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When he’s on-song with t he big st ick , few pa r fours require anything more than a wedge for the second shot. The par fives are at his mercy. But it was his composure, more than his awesome ball-striking ability that shone through at Fanling. Opening with rounds of 73 and 72, Liu found himself locked at the top of the leaderboard with fellow junior Terrence Ng on fiveover-par. Lam, who opened brightly with a 71, had faded to a 77 in the second round, but with 36 holes to play on the final day, he was by no means out of it. As it was, Liu’s nearest opponents froze in the bone-chilling conditions of the morning round, while he stamped his authority on the championship with a solid 72 to open up a seven-stroke lead. In truth, the final 18 holes were a cakewalk. Buoyed by a new-found appreciation of the tricky New Course greens, Liu, who attends Elegantia College in Sheung Shui, was rarely troubled and signed off with a best-of-the-event 70 in the final round. It was, quite simply, the perfect end to a perfect week.
Oliver Roberts celebrates holing an enormous putt on the sixteenth
Tim Orgill splashes out of a bunker during the final round
Liu Lok-tin in action
HONG KONG CLOSE LEADERBOARD
Chris Halpin enjoyed a solid tournament
Hong Kong Golf Club, New Course February 14-16, 2010
1 2 3 4 5= 8= 10 11 12 13 14= 16= 19 20
LIU Lok Tin Max WONG* Shinichi MIZUNO Steven LAM Mark McDONALD Christopher HALPIN Terrence NG Tim ORGILL Stuart MURRAY Anthony TAYLOR Oliver ROBERTS Kelvin INGE Jay WON Winston WU Michael STOTT LEE Cheuk Lam Ian CHUNG TANG Kei Hin Cameron HALLIDAY Todd HOOPER
73-72-72-70 74-74-76-73 73-81-73-73 71-77-76-77 77-75-75-75 80-75-70-77 73-72-79-78 79-73-76-75 75-79-74-75 75-77-78-78 77-73-86-74 79-73-76-83 76-78-85-75 77-78-82-79 75-78-82-81 74-84-79-80 75-79-83-80 79-77-77-84 76-82-80-82 83-74-87-83
287 297 300 301 302 302 302 303 303 308 310 311 314 316 316 317 317 317 320 327
Mark McDonald placed fifth
* Mid-Amateur Champion
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Terrence Ng got off to a bright start
Lam Clinches Order of Merit Title Despite not being at his best during the week, Steven Lam’s fourth place finish was enough to secure him his second successive HKGA Order of Merit title. The 17-yearold earned 18 points from the event to finish with a total of 60 points from the six counting tournaments – Hong Kong Close, Hong Kong Open, UBS Open/Faldo Series Qualifying, Kau Sai Chau Amateur, Macau Amateur and Midsummer Classic. Lam’s haul bettered Close champion Liu Lok-tin (51.5), who collected 30 points for his win to claim second. Roderick Staunton (40) placed third, with up-and-coming Shinichi Mizuno (39.5) finishing in fourth. The highlight of Lam’s year was unquestionably his brilliant performance at the Faldo Series Hong Kong qualifying event, which was held over the North Course at Kau Sai Chau. Opening up with a course record 65 in the first round, Lam tacked on a 68 in the second to win by an astonishing 25 shots.
An intelligent filter
Stuart Murray stares down an approach
The judgement to spot talent early; the expertise to nurture it. Blending the finest solutions for clients. Proud sponsors of the EFG Bank Hong Kong Golf Association Junior Golf Programme.
An out of synch Steven Lam still managed to claim the Order of Merit title
Liu Lok-tin in discussions with his caddie and fitness coach Kape Sieber
Practitioners of the craft of private banking
Hong Kong: 18th Floor, International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong, T +852 2298 3000 s Singapore: 25 North Bridge Road, #07-00 EFG Bank Building, Singapore 179104, T +65 6595 4888. Also in Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Seoul and Taipei. EFG Bank is part of EFG International, which operates in 55 locations in over 30 countries. www.efginternational.com
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