South Africa’s Christiaan Maas a cut above the rest at World Amateur golf championships in Singapore
Singapore’s men’s team finished a joint-18th; the women’s team achieved a joint-15th result
[SINGAPORE] All weekend long, the golfer whom everyone at Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC) was raving about was none other than South Africa’s Christiaan Maas as he took centrestage at the World Amateur Team Championships (WATC).
The world No 6 amateur, who’s in his final year at the University of Texas, put on a stellar showing to help his country win the men’s Eisenhower Trophy for the first time on Saturday (Oct 11).
The 22-year-old was unstoppable at TMCC’s Tampines course as he ended up being the only one among all the 108 golfers from 36 participating teams to shoot in the 60s for all four rounds.
From one shot down to Singapore’s celebrated Hiroshi Hirahara Tai after the first day of play on Oct 8, he enjoyed pole with a four-shot lead after 36 holes.
Maas then extended his lead to 10 over Norway’s Michael Mjaaseth the next day after a stupendous 65.
When Maas turned up for the final day on Saturday, the clubhouse chatter was no longer about who would win the event, but what would be his eventual margin of victory.
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As it turns out, Maas – a fourth-place finisher at this year’s Investec South African Open Championship – shot a three-under 69 for a 10-shot triumph over Australia’s Declan O’Donovan.
The WATC is, as its name suggests, mainly a team event, and no championship trophy is presented to the individual best finisher.
But the manner in which Maas dominated the field and steered South Africa to a convincing eight-shot victory over Australia with a 29-under 547 total was the main talking point.
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He played all four rounds in the 60s and recorded one eagle and 23 birdies for a 22-under 266 in what is said to be the best round in the historic series on a tough and testing course.
Said Maas: “I’m relieved and happy that I kept my head down today and didn’t back off. I think building a lead, everybody thinks it’s all happy, but it also comes with a lot of pressure.”
His captain Gavin Groves hailed the team’s “unbelievable” performances over the entire week.
“The guys played unbelievable golf the whole week. It’s just been such a great experience being here. The hospitality of Singapore, the people, the staff has been just incredible. Obviously, the trophy is just the cherry on top.”
Singapore’s Tai finished tied-11th with a six-under 282, the best finish for the Republic in the series.
Singapore’s men’s team also registered their best-ever finish of tied-18th in the team event when Tai, Brayden Lee and Troy Storm combined for a four-under 572 total in the best two-of-three’s daily tally to count.
Lee, whose 69 on the final day boosted Singapore’s tally, said: “I kept my head in the game. I made some putts in the front nine so I got through three-under pretty quickly.”
American women are champions
Last week, the women’s team from the United States – comprising Catherine Park, Farah O’Keefe and Megha Ganne – won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the 15th time after a dramatic end on the final day of competition on Oct 4.
The US, South Korea and Spain were tied at 18-under 558 after four rounds. But after comparing non-counting scores, Ganne’s third-round even-par 72 won the title for the Americans.
China’s Ying Xu was the best individual finisher on 13-under 275 while Singapore, who finished tied-15th, was ably led by Chen Xingtong on two-under 286.
This year’s WATC was hosted by the Singapore Golf Association and conducted by the International Golf Federation. The event is held every two years and is widely regarded as the pinnacle of amateur team golf.
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