APGC June by Timothy Campbell

APGC

ASIA-PACIFIC GOLF CONFEDERATION JOURNAL

JUNE 2016

Asia-Pacific take Hankins Trophy, lose Bonallack CONTENTS Mixed results for Asia-Pacific

1-2

Cheng better for the experience

Koreans claim Queen Sirikit Cup

Chairman’s message

HKGA, HSBC announce Junior Tour

Nine-hole golf a stich in time

Major incentive for Olympians

The Asia-Pacific team created history at the Vidago Palace Hotel Golf Course in Portugal in March, seizing victory in the inaugural Patsy Hankins Trophy – but there was again disappointment for the men’s team, who succumbed to Europe in the Bonallack Trophy for the fifth time in succession. The European men dominated their competition from the opening day, eventually cruising to a 21½ to 10½ final result.

They effectively shut the door from the start, leaving Asia-Pacific no hope of a final-day comeback. The women, though, exacted revenge of sorts when they took out the Hankins Trophy 17-15 after a see-sawing battle. The Europeans got off to a slow start and faced a fourpoint deficit at the end of day one. However, they managed to recoup lost ground in the third and fourth sessions and on the final day produced a nail-biting

performance which could have resulted in a win. Stars of the day were Sweden’s Frida Kinhult, German Laura Fünfstück, Welshwoman Chloe Williams and England’s Meghan MacLaren, who collected the early matches. In the end, though, it was Asia-Pacific, spearheaded by Australian Hannah Green, who managed to hold the pace. n Continued page 2

Mixed results for Asia-Pacific n From page 1

Green and Japanese pair Nasa Hataoka and Hina Aragaki each collected 3½ out of five points. Europe’s best-performing player was Dane Puk Lyng Thomsen, who stayed undefeated in her four matches by winning three and halving one. Green, the Australian No.1, was instrumental throughout the event, holding on against Italian Bianca Fabrizio in the second-to-last match to effectively seal the 17-15 overall victory. Green and Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan won half points in their respective matches to edge AsiaPacific over the line early in the tournament. Green was hailed by Golf Australia high-performance manager Matt Cutler. “Hannah was one of the key elements of the team’s win, playing up the order in big matches, setting the tone for the matches below,” he said. “She carried her form of the Australian summer over to Portugal and Asia-Pacific captain Libby Steele was high in her praise of Hannah’s team focus, both on and off the course.” In the Bonallack Trophy, the Europeans were simply too strong once again, retaining the trophy they have held since 2006. Again, though, the Australian players, acquitted themselves well. Golf Australia national squad members Zach Murray and Brett Coletta won singles matches on the final day. Murray ousted Scotland’s Jack McDonald 4&3, while fellow Victorian Coletta fought hard to beat England’s Bradley Moore 1-up. However, they were two of only four points the Asia-Pacific team won of the final 12 singles matches, with Europe’s depth proving too much. 2 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ JUNE 2016

Eyes on the prize: Above, despite intense concentration, the Asia-Pacific men were again defeated by Europe for the Bonallack Trophy; and below, the women evened the score by taking the Patsy Hankins event.

“We knew we were up against it in the singles and needed to make a fast start, which we did thanks to Brett and Zach,” AsiaPacific team captain Cutler said. “Unfortunately, we struggled in the middle matches and only Takumi Kanaya and Gregory Foo notched wins other than the Aussies. “Those four players were

our standouts for the week, but I think the whole team will have benefited from a great experience.” Murray and Coletta lost both opening-day matches 1-down, but impressed after that in taking 1.5 points of a possible two on day two. The final result could have easily been much closer with

11 matches going down the last hole and Asia-Pacific winning only three of them through the week. Forty-eight players from 23 countries competed against each other in this year’s Bonallack and Patsy Hankins trophies. The next edition will take place in March 2018, in Qatar.

Better for the experience

Learning curve: Jin Cheng competes at The Masters; and inset, being guided through a practice round by Tom Watson.

Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Jin Cheng might not have made the cut at The Masters, but he certainly got what he needed most: experience at the pinnacle of tournament golf. The young Chinese star battled to a first-round 79 – seven over the card – although he can take solace in the fact he finished one better than world No.5 Ricky Fowler. The 18-year-old from Beijing said one of the most surprising aspects of the tournament was teeing off in round one compared with the ease of playing practice rounds. One of his rounds was with the legendary Tom Watson, who guided Cheng through the course during a relaxed day. But come that first drive on the opening hole, he found the

situation had changed. “It’s pretty different, especially on that first tee. I was pretty excited,” Cheng said. He and the rest of the field had to contend with windy conditions but Cheng fared poorly with a double-bogey six to open the round. Undeterred, he managed to fight back with a birdie at the second and reached the turn in 39. He also birdied the tricky par-four 10th hole, but it was downhill from there – he double-bogeyed the next hole and then dropped another at the par-three 12th. Things didn’t improve as he limped through three straight bogeys from the 15th, finishing the homeward nine in 40. “I birdied a few tough holes

like 14, 10 and five but I had a few loose shots as well,” Cheng said. “I was not super disappointed, just a little disappointed. But I tried my best and I enjoyed the whole 18 holes. “It was an awesome experience. I enjoyed playing with Zach [Johnson] and Rickie [Fowler]. Cheng said he was realistic enough to set no targets on the famous layout, playing among the world’s best, but admitted to nerves, which affected his driving, and the difficulty of the breezy conditions. “My driver wasn’t that good, not only because I was nervous but after a few holes I began to notice all my drives were going a little right,” he said. Cheng, who has played

extensively in PGA Tour China events, a developmental tour in which he has a victory and six top-10 finishes, will begin playing college golf in California this year. Before The Masters, he had been in the US for a month and was able to play the course five times in preparation, supported by his family, which includes three other siblings. Cheng is now preparing to play at the University of Southern California, where he will begin classes in the fall. He will eventually turn pro, but doesn’t plan to do so any time soon. “I need some time to get ready for professional golf,’’ he said. “I’m still not mature enough for it. I think I can learn a lot from college golf.’’

Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation

Chairman Dr David Cherry

Vice Chairman Treasurer Mr Keisuki Mr Philip Muratsu Hassall

Secretary Mr Kyungjae Lee

Mr Taimur Amin Mr Zhang Xiaoning

Mr Mohammed Rae Vadee Faisal Al-Naimi T.Suwan

Nobuko Hirayama

Dato’ Rabeahtul Ning Li Aloya Abbas

The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation encourages all member nations to contribute news from their countries for inclusion in the APGC journal. News items can be emailed to editor Robert Grant at rob.grant1948@gmail.com JUNE 2016 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ 3

In it to win it: The teams at the 38th Queen Sirikit Cup Asia-Pacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship.

Koreans cruise to another Queen Sirikit Cup victory Home-town heroes Korea stormed to victory by an astonishing 23 shots in the 38th Queen Sirikit Cup AsiaPacific Amateur Ladies Golf Team Championship at Ora County Club in Jeju Island. The untouchable Koreans finished 22 under the card on 410 after the third and final round to beat Australia, who completed a great turnaround to edge out the Philippines on count-back at 433. A closing 69 from international newcomer Robyn Choi was the key to Australia’s second-place finish, after they had languished in sixth at the end of the first round. Taiwan (434) was fourth, Thailand and Malaysia (437) tied for fifth and China (438) finished seventh. The Korean women continued their extraordinary dominance of the prestigious event, claiming their ninth victory in the past 10 Queen Sirikit Cups. First-round leader Hyunkyung Park took the individual crown at eight-under from second-round leader Hye-jin Choi (-7), with teammate Gayoung Lee shooting a six4 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ JUNE 2016

Leading the way: Individual winner Hyun-kyung Park.

under 66 best round to complete the trifecta. The Championship featured 14 countries – including new member country Myanmar – with 42 players competing. There was fine weather for the two official practice rounds but some pre-tournament rain meant

the first round started amid unexpected low temperatures and strong winds. Despite the challenging conditions, last year’s individual winner Park scored a threeunder, leading by two strokes from Munchin Keh, from New Zealand, Hye-jin Choi and Du Mohan from China. These four were the only players to score under par on the opening day. Korea led the first round with a total score of 140 (-4), with Park and Hye-jin Choi leading them to a five-stroke lead over New Zealand and China. It was drizzly with some light fog in the early morning before the first group teed off for the second round. Play was suspended about 11am and for three hours because of heavy fog. Through the tough conditions, Hye-jin Choi fired a seven-underpar to edge two shots ahead of Park at eight-under. Korea held the lead after the second round, with their total score of 274 putting them 14 strokes ahead of the Philippines, who were even par. In the final round, Lee shot

six-under, making her the second runner-up with a total score of 210. Her teammates Park and Hyejin Choi were tied until the 15th hole, but Park broke the balance by making a birdie on the 16th and becoming the individual winner by one stroke. Having been in sixth place after the first round, Australian coach Virginia Irwin said the young team had shown tremendous grit to surge through the field. “Robyn’s 69 created some great energy on course that filtered through the team,” Irwin said. “It was a fantastic team effort all around. I was extremely proud of their commitment and how they handled every aspect of this event.” Robyn Choi inspired the Australians with her second consecutive sub-par round after a wobbly opening. The 18-year-old from Royal Pines was exemplary in firing a three-under-par 69 to finish a commendable 21st overall at six-over, after being 11-over and ranked 38th through the opening round.

Chairman’s message

APGC Chairman Dr David Cherry The APGC won the inaugural Patsy Hankins Trophy in Portugal with a narrow win over the European Golf Association, while the men lost reasonably comfortably. I was fortunate to see the women’s win, which was much closer than the first-round results suggested. To see such a disparate group unite to form a great team under their captain, Libby Steel, from NZ, exemplified what the APGC stands for – bringing vastly different nationalities together in the game of golf. It is a great pity this group will never again play as a team given the attractions of the pro game and university scholarships in the US, however the friendships developed in Portugal will last forever. The men’s team lacked the depth of the EGA team, but I was extremely impressed by the manner in which our team performed – I have to mention the two Indian players who were a great credit to both India and the APGC. This event was greatly boosted by the inclusion of the Patsy Hankins Trophy, which was attended by her three children, making it a truly memorable occasion. The 2018 event will be in Doha, Qatar, and I am confident Qatar, through our executive member Mohammed Al Naimi, will live up to the reputation

it has developed for staging major international events. The Queen Sirikit Cup, held recently in Jeju Island, South Korea, was the first time this event has been held under the auspices of the APGC. There may have been some initial teething problems but the winners, South Korea, were never really threatened. Golf in South Korea is extremely strong, particularly in women’s golf, and I am assured there are a batch of juniors ready to take the place of the outstanding duo that represented the APGC in the Patsy Hankins Trophy, should they decide to turn pro. The strength of women’s golf in the Asia-Pacific region is crying out for an individual championship – the Asia Pacific Women’s Amateur Championship. Believe me, we on the executive are working very hard to that end – hopefully in my next message I will have something concrete to announce. This was the first event that the APGC has had a paid tournament director, Nick Shan, who resides in Singapore and is a full-time employee of the R&A, helping Dominic Wall in his role as the R&A representative in the Asia-Pacific region. The APGC has entered into an arrangement with the R&A that will allow Shan to direct all of our events, which will

make them more consistent and ensure they are of the standard we desire. Jin Cheng will be disappointed with his performance at the Masters, having been in great form leading up to the event. But I can say that he proudly represented us with distinction – he has every chance to get a repeat invitation by winning the AAC again at the Jack Nicklaus course in South Korea later in the year. Golf is in the process of undergoing fundamental change to suit the lifestyles of modern married couples. In my younger days, it was considered acceptable to disappear for the entire weekend to play golf. Not so anymore – and appropriately so. Men and women have to share responsibility, particularly for bringing up children. Therefore, it is becoming fashionable to have nine-hole competitions whereby players only need to allow about two hours. Hence there is also the attraction of nine-hole golf courses, which are much cheaper as they require much less land and labour. Players can still get handicaps on nine-hole scores. While I do not expect to see any change to major championships, I think there will be a fundamental change to recreational golf in the next decade or two.

HKGA, HSBC announce 2016 junior schedule The Hong Kong Golf Association and its exclusive financial partner HSBC have announced the HSBC Junior Tour schedule for 2016, which features two nine-hole tournaments at Fanling for the first time. Entering its eighth season, the HSBC Junior Tour will enable hundreds of golfers aged six to 14 to play in up to seven ninehole tournaments. The tour-opener is at the Hong Kong Golf Club’s Deep Water Bay on April 23 and the

season culminates with the HSBC Junior Tour Grand Final at Deep Water Bay on January 6 next year. The Hong Kong Golf Club’s new course at Fanling will stage two nine-hole events, on May 22 and June 19. Deep Water Bay will host further tournaments on July 9, August 5 and September 10. More information on the new tour schedule can be found at hkga.com. Global head of sponsorship and events at HSBC Giles Morgan said: “HSBC’s global commitment to golf reaches all

levels of the game. We are proud of the continued success of the HSBC Junior Tour in the local community, and we are delighted to see so many more young golfers participating in the sport and having the opportunity to play tournament golf and, most importantly, having fun. “We look forward to working with the HKGA to further grow the tour in the years ahead.” HKGA president Mark Chan added: “The HSBC Junior Tour is an integral part of our junior

development programme and in eight years we have seen many competitors graduate to our junior squad and even our national teams. “Furthermore, with the success of our recently launched HSBC Golf For Schools program, we expect even more new golfers to emerge onto the Tour in the coming years. “We thank HSBC for making this possible and also our other partners, including the Hong Kong Golf Club, for their tremendous support.” JUNE 2016 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ 5

A stitch in time: stick to nine Nine hole golf courses – which could be a boon for smaller, developing Asia-Pacific countries – have been strongly backed by the R&A. The R&A is showing its support for nine-hole golf as an ideal way to play in less time while still doing so competitively and for handicap purposes by introducing a new championship at Royal Troon this summer. The inaugural event for amateurs will be played on Saturday, July 9, giving players the opportunity to play nine holes at the historic Ayrshire links on the eve of the 145th Open. In 2017, the event will be expanded to cover golf clubs in Great Britain and Ireland, with players being given the chance to qualify at nine-hole events held by The R&A’s affiliated national associations in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The move will also benefit members of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation as a way into the game. Some smaller nations may not have the land or cash to develop a full 18-hole course with facilities, but a smaller layout could well be an introductory step for those keen on the game. Padraig Harrington, twotime Champion Golfer of the Year and R&A Working for Golf Ambassador, welcomed the initiative. “People who want to play golf are increasingly struggling to find the time to

Short and sweet: Geelong Golf Club’s dedicated nine-hole course near Melbourne, which was originally part of one of the oldest courses in Australia; and inset, R&A secretary Martin Slumbers.

play, so positioning nine-hole golf as a legitimate alternative makes a lot of sense,” he said. “I’m really pleased to see The R&A taking the lead in this area. For regular amateur golfers to be able to play the Open venue in championship condition immediately before the best players in the world is a fantastic initiative and I’m sure this new competitive format will encourage more people to get out on the golf course and play nine-hole golf.” The R&A’s extensive survey on pace of play and the subsequent Time for Golf conference

in St Andrews in November highlighted the challenges many face in finding time to play 18 holes, with 60 per cent of those surveyed expressing the view they would enjoy golf more if it took less time. The survey also revealed that among 25 to 44-year-olds who are unhappy with the pace of play, 21 per cent would like playing time reduced by as much as one-and-a-half hours, while 19 per cent would welcome the chance to play nine holes more often as an alternative format. Martin Slumbers, chief executive of The R&A, said:

“One of the messages that came through clearly from the survey and the Time for Golf conference is that people would play more golf if they could do so in significantly less time. “Nine-hole golf is not new but we feel it is often overlooked as a perfectly valid way to play the sport, either with your family and friends or competitively. “We are delighted to introduce a nine-hole championship and will be promoting this format as a way of playing golf in less time, which can have wider appeal among people who lead increasingly busy lives.”

Major incentive as Olympians go for gold The International Golf Federation has announced gold medallists at the Rio Olympics will earn exempt status into 2017’s major championships. “The men’s winner will secure an invite to the Masters Tournament, the US Open, The Open and the PGA Championship in 2017, while the women’s gold medallist will earn an exemption into 6 ❘ APGC NEWSLETTER ❘ JUNE 2016

the Evian Championship in 2016, and the ANA Inspiration, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the US Women’s Open and the Ricoh Women’s British Open in 2017,” RGF said. With four months until golf returns to the Olympics for the first time since 1904, officials came together at the Masters to make the announcement in Augusta, Georgia.

“We collaborate on many initiatives designed to showcase and grow the great game of golf,” Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said. “As we represent so many of the championships in our sport, we thought it would be important and timely to come together in a total and unanimous support for Olympic golf.” Silver and bronze medallists in

the men’s competition will also earn exemptions into sectional qualifying for next year’s US Open. The men’s and women’s golf competitions will each feature a field of 60 players competing in a 72-hole stroke-play event. The men’s competition will take place from August 11-14 and the women’s competition from August 17-20.