Why golf’s Singapore Open holds a special place on the local sports calendar

[SINGAPORE] For the last 65 years and counting, golf’s Singapore Open has become such an important fixture on the local sports calendar that, without it, many fans here suffer from withdrawal symptoms akin to anxiety.

Case in point: There were three instances when the annual event was not held due to various reasons.

From 2002 to 2004, 2013 to 2015, and in 2021, the absence of sponsors and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic struck a body blow to the event, forcing those seven editions to be cancelled.

Singapore’s national golfers were stuck without a top-tier tournament to play in. Golf fans were numbed without their annual entertainment sustenance.

And gone too was the chance to exhibit Singapore’s many beautiful courses, such as the Sentosa Golf Club’s award-winning Serapong Course, to a global television audience and on social media.

And without this tournament, there was one fewer opportunity to have the world’s best golfers come to our shores to play.

Over the years, it was the Singapore Open that brought us closer to the likes of global superstars such as Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Jordan Spieth, Angel Cabrera, Talor Gooch and Padraig Harrington – just to name a few.

Yes, there are other ad-hoc tournaments out there, such as the Tiger Skins, the Johnnie Walker Classic and, more recently, LIV Golf, but these do not capture the local fans’ imagination and stir that level of excitement as much as as the Singapore Open.

Back in 1961, the Singapore Open featured on the first season of the Far East Circuit (which later became the Asia Golf Circuit), before becoming a fixture on the Australasian Tour. From 2009 to 2012, the national open was co-sanctioned with the European Tour, and then with the Japan Golf Tour from 2016.

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And since 2025, the Singapore Open has been a part of the International Series – the upper-tier level of events on the Asian Tour that provide golfers with a lucrative pathway to play in the LIV Golf League.

Last month, it was announced that The Business Times – the only financial daily in Singapore and a publication of SPH Media – will be the presenting partner of this year’s Singapore Open. The four-day event takes place from Apr 23 to 26 at the Sentosa Golf Club.

Whatever the linkages have been over the decades, the Singapore Open continues to be a must-watch among local golf fans, many of whom take leave from work to catch the action “live”.

One ardent fan is Loh Ah Joo, an 87-year-old who’s been a member of the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) since 1970.

SICC was the first and long-term home of the event, hosting the championship from the first edition in 1961 all the way to 1987.

Widely known as the “grandfather of golf” and a familiar face at the pro-am events, Loh said he will “always cherish” the Singapore Open and its vast history.

“Having been in the golf industry for almost 60 years, I have met so many friends and contacts here and abroad through the Singapore Open,” he said.

“I always reminisce about how a S$20,000 event in 1961 with about 40 golfers has snowballed into once a US$6 million showcase, before scaling down to the US$2 million in prize money today. Even now, I make it a point to attend at least one of the four days of the event. I grieved during those years when the event did not take place.”