Trio lift Team Boss' hopes

Singapore

WITH all three counting players returning under-par scores last Thursday, Team Boss are breathing down the necks of favourites Proelect, ensuring that the Business Times Corporate Golf League gears up for an exciting finish.

Team Boss are just two points adrift of the leaders as the annual event draws to a close on Sept 21 at Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden course.

Andre Huber (course handicap 13, 81 gross) and Christopher Taw (18, 86) each contributed 39 points, while William Tay (8, 78) bagged 37 points for a record 115 total at the Warren Golf and Country Club's par-71 course to put Team Boss in contention for the prestigious title.

With Team Boss' fourth player Ben Fones (13, 84) managing an even-par 36 points, it is all the more remarkable that on a challenging course like Warren and with drivers not allowed, the quartet can still score heavily.

Proelect, with all four players with single-digit course handicaps and led by star golfer Tan Lee Hong (8, 76) with 39 points, could manage only 105 points, their second-lowest score in the six-leg event, to enable Team Boss to close the gap.

The interest will be sustained as the organisers had decided that the Tanah Merah leg is a mandatory count, this time with all four players' (unlike three in the previous legs) scores to matter for the final count.

Proelect and Team Boss have created a chasm between the top two and the rest of the nine challengers, as third-placed Team Boustead, the defending champions, are lying third on 423 points while previous winners Team Citi are fourth on 418.

Seventh-placed Centurion's Eugene Oei, with the lowest course handicap of a mere 3, returned the best gross score of three-over 74 and with points for all 18 holes despite a tough day's outing.

Because the driver was not allowed in the competitive category, it was expected that the Hugo Boss Longest Drive Challenge would not feature a long-hitter. It was par for the course for social golfer Henry Tan, who bagged the prize with 223 metres, using his driver. The leader of this challenge is Team Audi's Jackie Teo with his mammoth 294 drive at the fourth leg at the Seletar Country Club course last month.