Orchid Country Club’s Alain Lee impresses with 40 points, 308-yard longest drive in BT Golf League
Team Boss claim the third leg’s honours on countback; Singapore Global Trust retain top spot in the standings
[SINGAPORE] With a maximum stableford total of 40 points, Alain Lee boosted Orchid Country Club’s tally to retain second place in this year’s The Business Times Corporate Golf League, which is presented by Singapore Pools.
In the third leg of the league at Laguna National Golf Resort Club’s challenging Classic course on Apr 10, Lee shot a one-over 73 to raise Orchid Country Club’s three-player total of 108 points – a tally shared also by leaders Singapore Global Trust, Team Boss and Performance Motors.
However, Team Boss claimed the day’s team honours, winning on countback in the competitive category to take their three-day total to 322 points.
Their contributions came from John Lim (38 points), Thio Wee Kai (37) and Andre Huber (33) on the modified stableford system.
The 42-year-old Lee – a former national junior player who is currently in the food and beverage business – also claimed the Longest Drive prize with a phenomenal 308 yards. His solid drives put himself in pole positions for easy approaches on the bunker-littered 6,411-yard course.
On the Longest-Drive designated par-five third hole, the 12-handicapper sent a booming tee-shot to the right of fairway just 190 yards from the hole. But what looked like a prospective birdie turned into a mere par as his seven-iron approach ran past the hole into difficult rough. He dug out and two-putted for par.
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However, Lee made up for that missed golden chance with five birdies on the eighth, ninth, 13th, 14th and 15th holes, putting behind a disastrous start on the par-three 17th hole.
His tee shot to the island green found the right bunker, and pin high. He blasted out and three-putted on an undulating green for a double-bogey, the only blemish on his otherwise impeccable card.
Two of his birdies saw near-misses for eagles, but after playing eight other holes to regulation, Lee said he was satisfied with his round on a humid afternoon on the course.
“After the poor start, I played great golf, capitalising on my massive drives,” said Lee, who plays in the Singapore Golf Association league.
With his 41 points (capped at 40), Orchid Country Club totalled 108 points with help from Francis Ong (37 points) and Jean Chan (31) to boost their tally over the three legs to 324 points.
Singapore Global Trust kept their perch in the nine-team table after also gaining 108 points, thanks to contributions from Kenneth Oh (39 points), Joey Chang (35) and Jimmy Wong (34).
It looks like a four-way battle for the overall championship, as only 14 points separate Singapore Global Trust (327) from fourth-placed Gayatri.
Performance Motors (311) made up ground by six points on fourth-placed Gayatri (313) by also totalling 108 points from Allen Gong (37), Dily Ng (36) and Charles Tan (35).
Performance Motors, the league’s hole-in-one car sponsor, bagged a double in the Social category when Simon Sim claimed the individual honours with 38 points on countback. He also helped his side take the team honours, supported by Xavier Tay (38) and Darren Wong (33).
The fourth leg with be held at Orchid Country Club on Apr 25, followed by the final leg at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course on May 9.
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