https://www.scmp.com/rss/141963/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club will play host to next year's Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, the seventh edition of the world's most televised amateur golf tournament. In a major coup for Hong Kong, the championship co-organised by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), the Masters Tournament and the R&A will take place over the spectacular Clearwater Bay layout from October 1-4. For Hong Kong's leading amateurs there is the tantalising incentive of vying for a starting spot in the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1623187/major-coup-hong-kong-clearwater-bay-club-will-host-asia-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1623187/major-coup-hong-kong-clearwater-bay-club-will-host-asia-pacific?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Oct 2014 14:15:45 +0000 Mirim Lee was supposed to be no more than a bit-part player in the final round of the US$2.1 million Reignwood LPGA Classic. Instead, the 23-year-old Korean confounded the odds, upstaging playing partners Stacy Lewis, the American world number one, and European heavyweight Caroline Hedwall. Two shots off the pace going into the final round, the LPGA rookie tore up the script, carding a four-under-par 69 to emerge triumphant over the Jack Nicklaus-designed Pine Valley Golf Club layout. When I... https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1610133/mirim-lee-stuns-big-names-claim-victory-reignwood-lpga-classic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1610133/mirim-lee-stuns-big-names-claim-victory-reignwood-lpga-classic?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Oct 2014 15:22:53 +0000 They may have come to cheer Feng Shanshan, but by the end of the third round of the US$2.1 million Reignwood LPGA Classic it was the name of teen phenomenon Shi Yuting on the lips of the Pine Valley Golf Club galleries. Playing in her first tournament as a professional, the 16-year-old fired an accomplished five-under-par 68 to soar 12 places up the leaderboard in the richest of the LPGA Tour's seven events in Asia. With a 54-hole aggregate of eight-under 211, Shi heads into today's final round... https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1609822/teenager-shi-yuting-reignwood-lpga-classic-contention?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1609822/teenager-shi-yuting-reignwood-lpga-classic-contention?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Oct 2014 17:00:15 +0000 For 109 consecutive weeks, Tseng Ya-ni ruled the female golfing world. From 2011 to 2013, the Taiwanese player was the dominant force in the women's game, amassing five majors and sitting pretty atop the Rolex Rankings. But golf, as Tseng has discovered, can be a fickle game. Without warning, a game that had seemed infallible, became laboured. Hitherto long and straight drives started to miss the fairways. Putts failed to drop. But despite the painful decline that now sees her 66th in the world... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/1609073/resurgent-tseng-ya-ni-shows-glimpses-her-best-reignwood-lpga-classic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/1609073/resurgent-tseng-ya-ni-shows-glimpses-her-best-reignwood-lpga-classic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Oct 2014 15:21:16 +0000 Make no mistake, Stacy Lewis has a score to settle this week. Pipped at the post by home favourite Feng Shanshan in last year's inaugural Reignwood LPGA Classic, the American has unfinished business to attend to at the Pine Valley Golf Club. And the world number one could hardly have wished for a better start, a late birdie barrage putting her in pole position after the opening round of the US$2.1 million event. "I just stayed patient all day and was rewarded by birdieing four of the last five,"... https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1608323/stacy-lewis-determined-redeem-herself-reignwood-lpga-classic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1608323/stacy-lewis-determined-redeem-herself-reignwood-lpga-classic?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Oct 2014 14:04:48 +0000 The power of home support should never be under-estimated in golf. Just ask the 12 Europeans who, raucously cheered on by the Gleneagles galleries, swatted aside the limp challenge of their disunited American rivals last week. While Ryder Cup-style match play mania may not yet have gripped China, Feng Shanshan can attest to the importance of a vocal, local crowd. It was 12 months ago that Feng produced an astonishing denouement to a tense head-to-head battle with world number one Stacy Lewis,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1606687/home-crowd-can-lift-feng-victory-reignwood-lpga?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/golf/article/1606687/home-crowd-can-lift-feng-victory-reignwood-lpga?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Oct 2014 15:00:45 +0000 It's been a long and winding road. But almost 45 years after the launch of its inaugural circuit, Asia can finally lay claim to having a regional tour of true substance. While Jeev Milkha Singh continues his quest to capture this year's Asian Tour UBS Order of Merit at Fanling this weekend, the wheels are already in motion for a record-breaking 2007 campaign. There have been numerous false dawns for the professional game in Asia since the launch of the Far East Circuit in the early 1960s. But... https://www.scmp.com/article/571915/kyi-hla-han-sees-golden-era-ahead-asian-tour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/571915/kyi-hla-han-sees-golden-era-ahead-asian-tour?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Time has not stood still for Hong Kong's oldest professional sporting event, with a new, exciting era in the Hong Kong Open's 42-year-old history set to clock- in at Fanling this week. For the first time since its inauguration in 1959, the Omega-sponsored tournament will boast US$500,000 in prize money, making it one of the richest golfing gatherings in the region. For the first time also, the Open will be a fully-fledged event on the Asian PGA's Davidoff Tour, providing the climax to a... https://www.scmp.com/article/334139/trio-chase-glory-showpiece-tournament?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/334139/trio-chase-glory-showpiece-tournament?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Dec 2000 16:00:00 +0000 Timing is everything in golf. And there could not be a more appropriate occasion than the Omega Hong Kong Open for Zhang Lianwei to break his Asian PGA jinx. For all his pioneering achievements since turning professional at the end of 1994, there is one glaring omission in the curricu lum vitae of China's number one. Although he is 25th in the Davidoff Tour's all-time money list, with earnings of US$260,443, the Shenzhen professional is surprisingly still waiting to record his first victory... https://www.scmp.com/article/334130/time-ripe-zhang-try-filling-blanks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/334130/time-ripe-zhang-try-filling-blanks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Dec 2000 16:00:00 +0000 It was during the early 1990s that a Beijing professor caused consternation in the corridors of power at the Royal and Ancient clubhouse when he boldly asserted that the game of golf had, contrary to conventional wisdom, been invented by China. Following years of study, the learned academic concluded that neither the Scots nor the Dutch were responsible for giving golf to the world. Golf, alleged the professor, was actually derived from an ancient Chinese activity known as 'Chiu-wan', a... https://www.scmp.com/article/309988/ancient-arts-will-put-china-course-bright-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/309988/ancient-arts-will-put-china-course-bright-future?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2000 16:00:00 +0000 Its low-key launch was in stark contrast to the hype that greeted last week's initial public offering of Tom.com. But for golfing traditionalists with an eye on seeing their shares soar and their handicaps plummet, another Li Ka-shing venture appears set to prove a winner. Built at an estimated cost of $300 million, the Harbour Plaza Golf Club in Dongguan unveiled its first 18 holes last July. A further nine holes came on line at the beginning of September. Although Li, a self-confessed... https://www.scmp.com/article/309351/li-venture-puts-stock-exclusivity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/309351/li-venture-puts-stock-exclusivity?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 27 Feb 2000 16:00:00 +0000 As institutions for academic excellence, Hong Kong's schools are frequently lauded as being above par. But that same high level of classroom performance has not been replicated in the SAR's sporting arenas,. Although soccer, basketball and athletics feature on the curricula of Hong Kong schools, there's no masking the fact that sport in general, with its limited career opportunities, is a low priority. Hardly surprising then that non-mainstream activities such as golf have struggled even... https://www.scmp.com/article/308689/testing-times-stars-tomorrow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/308689/testing-times-stars-tomorrow?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Feb 2000 16:00:00 +0000 For Zhang Lianwei, the 21st century could not arrive quickly enough. Despite two fifth-place finishes on the Asian PGA Tour and a debut appearance on the US Tour, 1999 was a letdown for the man who has been at the forefront of China's golfing march throughout the last decade. Although nagging injuries contributed to his problems, Zhang refused to blame them for his loss of form and confidence. But that's all in the past - all that concerns him now is the future. The spring is back in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/308025/pioneering-zhang-proves-hes-still-driving-force?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/308025/pioneering-zhang-proves-hes-still-driving-force?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Feb 2000 16:00:00 +0000 There are many ingredients that go into the mix of conjuring a great golfing holiday destination. An abundance of outstanding courses, affordable green fees and available tee-times are pre-requisites. Throw in good weather, fine food, comfortable accommodation, warm hospitality and service with a smile and you can be sure you're on to a winner. As droves of Hong Kong residents who celebrated Lunar New Year in Thailand will attest, the Land of Smiles boasts all the above, and a whole lot... https://www.scmp.com/article/307516/thailands-drive-tap-european-market-pays?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/307516/thailands-drive-tap-european-market-pays?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Feb 2000 16:00:00 +0000 Few would dispute that 1999 was the Year of the Tiger with young Master Woods dominating golf in a manner not witnessed since the halcyon days of Jack Nicklaus. So what we can we expect in 2000? It's early days yet, but the the Year of the Dragon is already shaping up to be a most memorable one for a handful of rising amateur stars. Following his remarkable exploits Down Under, it has not taken long for Aaron Baddeley to be burdened with the moniker of 'the next Greg Norman'. Despite the... https://www.scmp.com/article/307067/young-guns-hope-eclipse-year-tiger?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/307067/young-guns-hope-eclipse-year-tiger?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jan 2000 16:00:00 +0000 Is Colin Montgomerie simply teasing us or is he genuinely plotting a change of career course? The Scotsman, who has swept all before him in Europe for the past seven years, stunned his fans last week when he let slip that his retirement from the professional game might be imminent. Never mind the hastily released denials to the contrary, speculation about what lies ahead for Montgomerie is now certain to mount in the leadup to the millennium British Open at St Andrews. During a BBC... https://www.scmp.com/article/306437/montgomeries-influence-felt-across-globe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/306437/montgomeries-influence-felt-across-globe?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jan 2000 16:00:00 +0000 It may not have been deemed worthy of inclusion in the list of historic shots heard around the world. But when Choi Kyung-ju struck his opening drive in last week's Sony Open in Hawaii, the reverberations were felt as far away as Malaysia. At the same time as the Korean strongman was making his debut as a fully-fledged member of the US PGA Tour, almost 200 hopefuls from all corners of the globe were preparing to compete in the first stage of the revamped Asian PGA Qualifying School. Choi,... https://www.scmp.com/article/305750/choi-drives-bright-new-future-asian-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/305750/choi-drives-bright-new-future-asian-game?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jan 2000 16:00:00 +0000 So, you think you have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Rules of Golf and are confident you could act as a rules official in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of a Major tournament? Much as golfers like to kid themselves that they know the Rules inside out, and how to bend them in their favour, the reality is different. 'As much as I hate to say it, it's pretty apparent that a lot of professionals have not taken the time to learn the Rules,' confesses Valen Tan, tournament operations director... https://www.scmp.com/article/305103/chance-play-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/305103/chance-play-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Jan 2000 16:00:00 +0000 It's the season of goodwill. So let's be charitable and spare a thought for the much-maligned and oft-abused men and women who earn a paltry crust from lugging oversized golf bags around the golf courses of Asia. To be sure, the lot of a caddie is, for the most part, a thankless one. After all, they are the poor souls who have to put up with the violent mood swings that afflict fickle golfers of all abilities. Confess. How often have you duffed a shot into the drink and turned in disgust... https://www.scmp.com/article/302498/caddies-are-more-bag-carriers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/302498/caddies-are-more-bag-carriers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Dec 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Kyi Hla Han is just four rounds away from accomplishing the most important mission of his career. Entering this week's US$500,000 Omega PGA Championship at Shenzhen's Mission Hills Golf Club, Burma's Han sits comfortably atop the Asian PGA Davidoff Tour Order of Merit standings. Over the course of this year, Hong Kong-based Han has participated in 15 Asian PGA tournaments, winning the Volvo China Open in Shanghai in May and finishing runner-up on three occasions. Thanks to his... https://www.scmp.com/article/302076/consistent-han-leads-charge-order-merit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/302076/consistent-han-leads-charge-order-merit?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Dec 1999 16:00:00 +0000 As he waltzed to victory at Fanling in 1987, Ian Woosnam not only enhanced his standing as one of the world's outstanding golfing talents, but also added further credence to the reputation of the Hong Kong Open as the region's premier national Open championship. Over the ensuing 12 years, much water has passed under the bridge for Woosnam . . . and the Hong Kong Open. Born in 1958, the year before the launch of the Hong Kong Open, Woosnam has seen his stocks slowly dip since scaling the... https://www.scmp.com/article/301062/difficult-sustain-opens-isolation-regional-tour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/301062/difficult-sustain-opens-isolation-regional-tour?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Nov 1999 16:00:00 +0000 It's not only on the fairways where standards are rising in golf in Asia. Off the course, too, golfing establishments around the region are rapidly making up ground on their counterparts in Europe and the United States. A degree of credit for that goes to Dr Tim Somerville, president and founder of the internationally acclaimed California-based Professional Golfers Career College (PGCC). Into his third decade as a leader in the golf education business, the good doctor has been responsible... https://www.scmp.com/article/300400/working-towards-excellence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/300400/working-towards-excellence?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Nov 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Everyone knows about the extraordinary, record-breaking golfing exploits of Tiger Woods. After six days in Taiwan, no-one should be in any doubt either that Woods' remarkable ability to dominate a golf tournament is matched only by his astonishing revenue-generating power. Such is the stature of the man who has won nine times this year and banked more than US$6 million in prize money that he can virtually name his own price when it comes to negotiating appearance fees and endorsement... https://www.scmp.com/article/299671/how-tigers-charm-offensive-took-taiwan-storm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/299671/how-tigers-charm-offensive-took-taiwan-storm?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Nov 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Tiger Woods was barely in his teens nine years ago when Nick Faldo, then at the peak of his golfing powers, etched his name into golf's record books as the inaugural winner of the Johnnie Walker Classic. Sparked by a fine third round of nine-under-par 62 at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Faldo's victory was greeted with the same sense of inevitability that now occurs when Woods adds another title to his collection. To this day, though, that imperious display by Faldo, who earlier in 1990 had won... https://www.scmp.com/article/298995/woods-heads-classic-showdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/298995/woods-heads-classic-showdown?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Nov 1999 16:00:00 +0000 As Payne Stewart summoned all his extraordinary powers to drain a pressure-packed 18-foot putt for victory on the final green at Pinehurst in June's US Open, veteran golf fans watching television footage in Indonesia were transported back in time. Eighteen years earlier, the then 24-year-old Missourian found himself in a similarly tense situation at Jakarta's Pondok Indah. On the first extra hole of a four-man play-off at the 1981 Indonesian Open, Stewart, in his second full year on the... https://www.scmp.com/article/298310/stewart-evokes-asian-memories?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/298310/stewart-evokes-asian-memories?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Oct 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Look out America! The Asian invasion of the US LPGA Tour is about to commence in earnest. Already accustomed to seeing Koreans Pak Se-ri and Kim Mi-hyun enter the winner's circle, followers of the world's most lucrative women's professional golf circuit would do well to begin rehearsing the names of the fresh-faced Asians who will be gracing the US fairways from next year. When they teed-up in the women's golfing section at the Bangkok Asian Games 10 months ago, Lin Yu-ping, Dorothy Delasin... https://www.scmp.com/article/297637/asian-newcomers-add-muscle-pak-and-kim-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/297637/asian-newcomers-add-muscle-pak-and-kim-show?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Oct 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Twelve months ago when they arrived at the Home of Golf for their Alfred Dunhill Cup debut, China's top golfing trio were written off as no-hopers even before they struck a ball in anger. Although they failed to win any of their three group contests in the world's richest team golf event, Zhang Lian-wei, Wu Xiang-bing and Cheng Jun not only left a lasting impression on their rivals but also on Scottish fans and television viewers around the globe. 'There are no easy games at this level,'... https://www.scmp.com/article/295807/experience-count-chinese-shoot-greater-glory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/295807/experience-count-chinese-shoot-greater-glory?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Oct 1999 16:00:00 +0000 A hotbed for producing home-grown golfing champions Hong Kong has never been. But, over the years, there has been no shortage of opportunity for fans in the SAR to witness future international superstars setting out on the long and winding road to fairway fame and fortune. Greg Norman is the most high-profile example, having twice won the Hong Kong Open during his formative years as a professional. It was not long after that the Great White Shark was getting his teeth stuck into the US PGA... https://www.scmp.com/article/295500/champion-making-show-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/295500/champion-making-show-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Oct 1999 16:00:00 +0000 It's not only in the Ryder Cup where youth is having its fling. Taking a leaf out of the book of European skipper Mark James, Hong Kong's non-playing amateur captain Alec Pettigrew last week announced a fresh, new-look team for demanding overseas assignments. 'The priority has to be on youth,' said Pettigrew, who will mastermind the SAR's assault on next month's 13-nation Asia-Pacific men's amateur team championship for the Nomura Cup in Pakistan and November's Southeast Asian amateur... https://www.scmp.com/article/294892/hk-follow-europes-example-opting-youth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/294892/hk-follow-europes-example-opting-youth?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Sep 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Even the most die-hard European golf fans are not exactly over-flowing with confidence at the prospect of Mark James carrying the Ryder Cup trophy on to the Concorde flight due to bring his team home from America next Sunday evening. Indeed, such is the pessimistic tone of the continent's golfing media that it would hardly seem worth the Europeans bothering to turn up in Boston this week. A gentle tea party it will not be. Never mind actually retaining the prized Cup. Avoiding a... https://www.scmp.com/article/294185/history-smiles-europes-ryder-cup-underdogs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/294185/history-smiles-europes-ryder-cup-underdogs?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Sep 1999 16:00:00 +0000 It was 16 years ago that Arnold Palmer set foot in China. The purpose of that pioneering trip was to check out progress at the Zhongshan site where the first modern-day mainland golf course was taking shape. Given Palmer's status as the man who, more than any other individual, was responsible for globally popularising the game, it was entirely appropriate that he should have been chosen for the task of re-introducing golf to the world's most populous country. Yet in the wake of the 1984... https://www.scmp.com/article/293547/palmer-pioneer-china-development?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/293547/palmer-pioneer-china-development?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Sep 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong's army of armchair golf followers are facing further frustration. Nothing especially new in that, it must be said. Starved for so long of witnessing live coverage of golf's Major championships on terrestrial channels, the situation has improved considerably in recent years thanks to satellite and cable television. However, in comparison with other countries around the region, Hong Kong viewers still get a raw deal. Okay, this year we have been fortunate to see on our screens... https://www.scmp.com/article/292877/still-time-strike-ryder-cup-tv-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/292877/still-time-strike-ryder-cup-tv-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Sep 1999 16:00:00 +0000 For Zhang Lianwei, 1999 could not be labelled a vintage year. At least to this point. Wily professional that he has become, though, China's number one knows that one good tournament is all that it takes to turn everything around. And for Zhang there could be no better week than the one ahead in which to remind his followers that his desire and determination - qualities that have been such an integral part of his success - are as strong as ever. At British Columbia's Northview Golf &... https://www.scmp.com/article/292212/poised-zhang-breaks-new-ground?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/292212/poised-zhang-breaks-new-ground?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Aug 1999 16:00:00 +0000 For decades, golf's development in Asia suffered from the perception that it was ostensibly 'an old man's sport'. Certainly little was ever done in the way of promoting golf as a dynamic pastime or to encourage youngsters to take up the game. By and large, golf was something you turned to in middle age. On the overwhelming evidence presented before us during the past fortnight that is clearly, and thankfully, the case no longer. Indeed, these are heady days for Asian golf. First there... https://www.scmp.com/article/291558/youthful-exuberance-boon-game-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/291558/youthful-exuberance-boon-game-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Aug 1999 16:00:00 +0000 It's not often that an Asian golfer makes international headlines. Which is why, on those rare occasions when it does happen, we should shout it from the rooftops. To those who have studiously followed her spectacular progress via Thai newspapers and the Internet, Aree Wonglukeit's latest exploits will not come as a shock. That, though, does not make her most recent achievement any less worthy. As long ago as 1994, Aree was being widely touted as one of Asian golf's brightest hopes. Even... https://www.scmp.com/article/290933/thai-teenager-blazes-trail-asian-girls?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/290933/thai-teenager-blazes-trail-asian-girls?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Aug 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Is there more to life than golf? Greg Norman has always believed so. Unlike the single-minded Nick Faldo, with whom his career is so often compared, Australia's Great White Shark could never be accused of failing to spread his net as far and wide as possible. According to his critics, it's Norman's many and varied off-course distractions that are the primary reason why he has just two Major titles to his name. Although the remarkable golfing deeds of Spaniard Seve Ballesteros and Faldo,... https://www.scmp.com/article/290298/new-light-shed-what-makes-norman-tick?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/290298/new-light-shed-what-makes-norman-tick?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Aug 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Eight days may have passed. But quite what was going through the mind of Jean Van de Velde as he staggered in a seemingly punch-drunk state to negotiate Carnoustie's 18th hole in the final round of the 1999 Open Championship will long remain a hot topic of debate and analysis. Even for those who watched the compelling drama unravel before their very eyes, it's been difficult to fully comprehend the sequence of events that led, arguably, to the most astonishing conclusion to a tournament for... https://www.scmp.com/article/289035/frenchmans-strange-folly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/289035/frenchmans-strange-folly?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jul 1999 16:00:00 +0000 For decades, it's been described as one of Asia's finest finishing holes. Indeed, few who have tackled it would deny that equal measures of skill and courage are required to safely negotiate the 18th of the Hong Kong Golf Club's Eden Course. But why exactly is it that this par-four is so widely acknowledged as being a great golf hole? Is it based on the premise that it's a brute because there is precious little margin for error either with your drive or the knee-trembling approach shot over a... https://www.scmp.com/article/284409/publics-chance-nominate-asias-finest-holes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/284409/publics-chance-nominate-asias-finest-holes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jun 1999 16:00:00 +0000 As if invigorated by an intensive aroma of caffeine, a new-found energy has been injected into the Asian Professional Golfers' Association. Sparking the waves of optimism was last week's announcement of a far-reaching sponsorship deal with Davidoff Cafe. As well as providing financial support to the Asian PGA Tour, the title sponsorship will drive the association's Tee-Off 2000 campaign, aimed at building the prestige and boosting the prize-money of the renamed Davidoff Tour. With Asian... https://www.scmp.com/article/283696/new-sponsorship-puts-apga-nearer-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/283696/new-sponsorship-puts-apga-nearer-spotlight?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 May 1999 16:00:00 +0000 For a man who less than a decade ago knew nothing about golf, Cui Zhiqiang has come a long way in the game. Indeed, from Shanghai to St Andrews he is now a major player. As he stood on the presentation podium with an assortment of dignitaries at the prize-giving for the fifth Volvo China Open in Shanghai yesterday, Cui might well have reflected how golf has changed his life and how he has been a central figure in shaping the course of the game in the world's most populous country. In his... https://www.scmp.com/article/283007/cui-charts-course-games-future-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/283007/cui-charts-course-games-future-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 May 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Forget Tiger Woods, David Duval and Sergio 'El Nino' Garcia. Up-and-coming Asian golfers in search of a role model should look no further than Carlos Franco. A household name he may not be. Yet. However, with his victory in last week's Compaq Classic on the US PGA Tour, the 33-year-old Paraguayan forced his way into the consciousness of golf fans all over the world. It was not so much the manner of his New Orleans success that earned him international headlines, but the single-minded way... https://www.scmp.com/article/282289/paraguayan-franco-sets-shining-example?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/282289/paraguayan-franco-sets-shining-example?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 May 1999 16:00:00 +0000 As the world's ruling golfing body, the influence of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) stretches far and wide. Outside the United States, the R&A is responsible for administering the rules of the game and the Rules of Amateur Status for the rest of the world. In his role as R&A secretary, Sir Michael Bonallack has spent the past 16 years keeping a handle on golf's development from his office overlooking the first tee and 18th green of the Old Course at St Andrews, the... https://www.scmp.com/article/281553/onus-new-ra-chief-help-asian-national-bodies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/281553/onus-new-ra-chief-help-asian-national-bodies?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 May 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Colin Montgomerie could have been excused for waking up in a cold sweat last week. And it would have had nothing to do with the current form of Europe's number one as he prepares for an assault on June's US Open at Pinehurst where many believe he will belatedly join the elite ranks of Major championship winners. No. The cause for Monty's consternation would have been the announcement of the 16 countries selected by the International Advisory Committee to take part in the 15th staging of the... https://www.scmp.com/article/280107/monty-sure-choose-his-words-prudently?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/280107/monty-sure-choose-his-words-prudently?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Apr 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Kang Wook-soon is becoming accustomed to setting benchmarks. And as he closes in on what would be an unprecedented South China treble at the US$200,000 Macau Open the unassuming South Korean admits it's a role he relishes. Thanks to his tumultuous triumphs in last November's Perrier Hong Kong Open at Fanling and the Omega PGA Championship at Clearwater Bay, Kang secured the Asian PGA's 1998 Order of Merit crown. Not only was he the first man to achieve that feat twice, but also he became the... https://www.scmp.com/article/279149/kang-well-placed-south-china-treble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/279149/kang-well-placed-south-china-treble?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Apr 1999 16:00:00 +0000 It did not take long for Lee Westwood to find his range in the US$200,000 Macau Open. Shrugging aside the effects of jet-lag and making light of capricious early morning breezes, the Englishman lived up to his pre-tournament billing as favourite with a five-under-par 66 at the Macau Golf & Country Club. Given that he arrived in the Portuguese enclave less than 24 hours before his 8.15 am first-round tee-off time yesterday, it was a commendable effort from the world number seven. And... https://www.scmp.com/article/279056/westwood-shares-early-lead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/279056/westwood-shares-early-lead?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Apr 1999 16:00:00 +0000 Its degree of difficulty may not be comparable with Augusta National. But, make no mistake, the Macau Golf & Country Club course is anything but a pushover. That very fact will be emphasised this week when the tight, par-71 layout plays host to the second edition of the Macau Open. Aesthetically pleasing though the panoramic views across Coloane Island may be, competitors in the fourth leg of this year's Asian PGA Tour better be on their guard. Just ask those who competed in the Portuguese... https://www.scmp.com/article/278565/macau-course-provide-stiff-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/278565/macau-course-provide-stiff-test?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Apr 1999 16:00:00 +0000 To be number one. It's the ambition of every professional sportsman. In the upper echelons of golf, however, rising to the summit of the controversial and much-maligned world rankings is not considered the be-all and end-all. Far from it. Yes, it's important. Primarily because of the extra marketability it provides the player through lucrative product endorsements, and the negotiating power it gives to avarice-driven agents who claim a hefty percentage of appearance fees they secure for... https://www.scmp.com/article/277951/being-world-number-one-does-not-make-duval-major-player?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/277951/being-world-number-one-does-not-make-duval-major-player?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Apr 1999 16:00:00 +0000 How appropriate that during a week in which Severiano Ballesteros was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, a Hong Kong teenager inspired by the Spanish maestro carved his name into the SAR's golfing record books. For the past quarter century, 41-year-old Ballesteros has been the game's most charismatic character, single-handedly raising the profile of the professional game in Europe. Seve's acceptance speech had the ring of a man who, in his heart, knew his best golfing days were... https://www.scmp.com/article/277226/young-staunton-begins-display-championship-courage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/277226/young-staunton-begins-display-championship-courage?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Mar 1999 16:00:00 +0000 All too often, today's multi-millionaire professionals forget just how privileged they are. That's partly because most are too young to appreciate that top touring pros have not always enjoyed the red carpet treatment they now routinely receive. Indeed, it's a sad indictment of the average pro in America and Europe that they take so much for granted. Sadder still is the fact that it's only a minority who understand the debt of gratitude they owe to Arnold Palmer. More than two decades... https://www.scmp.com/article/276372/rising-stars-must-shoulder-responsibilities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/276372/rising-stars-must-shoulder-responsibilities?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Mar 1999 16:00:00 +0000 While caddies at a Bangkok golf club continue to fight for their right to maintain their livelihood, one of the highest-profile members of golf's caddying fraternity has been left without a bag to carry. Temporarily, at least. Following weeks of speculation that all was not well, world number one Tiger Woods announced he would be parting ways with Mike 'Fluff' Cowan, his caddie of the past 30 months. However, Cowan, the laidback, moustachioed, cigarette-puffing caddie who helped Woods to his... https://www.scmp.com/article/275577/caddying-your-keep-burden-carry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/275577/caddying-your-keep-burden-carry?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Mar 1999 16:00:00 +0000