A welcome shot in the arm for Singapore’s pro golfers

GOLF tournaments were something of a rarity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Besides the 2021 FTAG-sponsored Singapore Pro Series, there was little else over the last 2 years.

For Singapore’s golf professionals, that meant a lack of opportunities to win prize money and gain experience at big events.

However, there is now some light at the end of the tunnel for them with the return of the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour (ADT) events – thanks in part to the sponsorship of the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Series.

The big question is whether Singapore’s professionals will be able to qualify for upcoming events, given their weak record over the past 2 years. Many of them, except for the country’s top-ranked golfer Mardan Mamat, are struggling to obtain slots for the Asian Tour events.

Mardan’s inclusion is not purely on merit, but because of his status as a previous big money-winner. Back in 2016, he was Singapore’s first US$3 million sportsman.

Even with access to the second-tier ADT events, winnings by most other Singapore professional golfers have probably only just covered their expenses for travel, meals and accommodation.

Currently, on the ADT, Abdul Hadi, at No 20, is Singapore’s highest local money-winner – with US$11,465 after 12 events. Then comes Jesse Yap, in 23rd place – with US$9,976 after 11 events.

On the Asian Tour, Mardan - who finished tied 49th after Sunday’s (Sep 25) Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taiwan - heads the local standings with US$9,566 after 11 events, followed by Yap at US$6,416 after 4 events. Mardan also heads the SPGA Order of Merit with US$3,800.

Mardan was also the only 1 out of 15 Singapore professional golfers to make the cut at the Asian Tour’s International Series at the Tanah Merah Country Club’s Tampines course last month. He earned US$4,500.

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A knight in shining armour has now stepped forward to render some help to lift the players’ standards and rankings. Melvin Soh, executive director of Continental Steel and president of the Singapore Structural Steel Society (SSSS), has roped in some colleagues and friends to hold new pro-golf events.

Soh’s group is backing the SSSS-Continental Steel Challenge Trophy event on Thursday (Sep 29), and plans to hold annual pro-golf events from next year.

Continental Steel, established in 1982, is one of the largest premier steel suppliers in South-east Asia with an average company turnover of S$80 million. Soh has been SSSS president since 2017.

A Sentosa club member with a 19 handicap-index, Soh said: “Golf is readily enjoyed by many members of my industry. We spend thousands of dollars supporting corporate golf, charities and giving away scholarships. These might or might not be put to direct use yearly. I thought that some of this money might be better spent supporting professionals in a sport that my industry and I like.”

Soh also noted that Thai and Indonesian corporates – including Singha Beer, Siam Cement Group, Chang Beer and OB Golf – have thrown their support behind professional golfers from their own countries.

A group of 7 professionals to compete at the coming SSSS-Continental Steel Challenge Trophy event, which will be held at Sentosa Golf Club’s New Tanjong course. The top prize at this event is S$2,500.

The 7 players are Hadi, Yap, Choo Tze Huang, Gregory Foo, Marc Ong, Nicklaus Chiam and Vikkash Babu. There is a guaranteed minimum prize money of S$500. Mardan is unavailable for this event as he is slated to play in the Asian’s Tour’s Mercuries Taiwan Masters from Sep 29 to Oct 2.