Terrence Ng wins second Hong Kong Men’s Close Amateur title
The 21-year-old is the first to defend his crown since 1993 after his one-stroke victory
Terrence Ng fired closing rounds of 69 to win his second Hong Kong Men’s Close Amateur Championship on the New Course at Fanling yesterday.
In doing so, the 21-year-old became the first player since Scott Rowe in 1993 to successfully defend his title and can now look forward to playing alongside the professionals at the 2016 UBS Hong Kong Open.
Hong Kong Golf Association’s Ng shot a four-round total of 285 for a one-stroke victory over Hong Kong Golf Club’s Max Wong and HKGA teammate Leon D’Souza.
“To win back-to-back feels really special,” said a delighted Ng. “I got off to a slow start in round three [in the morning] but four birdies in a row got me going and I kept it up from there.”
I got off to a slow start in round three [in the morning] but four birdies in a row got me going and I kept it up from there
“This is a big year for me. Making the cut in the Hong Kong Open is one goal while getting into the team for the Eisenhower Trophy is another,” added the national team player.
On a dramatic last day, which started with nine players within five shots of halfway leader Steven Lam, Ng came back from opening rounds of 75 and 72 to shoot matching one-under-par 69s and finish at five shots over par for the tournament.
Lam struggled over the final 36 holes to finish on 293, while the in-form D’Souza and Wong were left to rue late bogeys, finishing one back in a tie for second place.
Wong’s 286 total earned him the Mid-Amateur title for players aged 25 and above.
Stuart McKinnon and Doug Williams finished eight back on 294 in a tie for second.
With the Hong Kong Men’s Close Amateur Championship part of the Road to MercedesTrophy Hong Kong 2016, Ng also secured a spot in the prestigious MercedesTrophy – a global amateur invitational event with yesterday’s tournament the third of five qualifiers for the main competition on May 13 at Fanling.
Tied for fourth on 289 were Discovery Bay’s Shinichi Mizuno and HKGA’s Wu Sho-wai with Lam finishing a lone on sixth with a total of 293.
