She turned professional only two weeks ago, but sole local qualifier Koh Sock Hwee is already setting her sights on a best-ever finish at the HSBC Women’s Champions, which tees off today at the Serapong Course.

Addressing the media at the Sentosa Golf Club yesterday, the 26-year-old said she feels like she “belongs out there”, as she prepares to make her third appearance at the US$1.5 million ($2.1m) tournament.

She propped up the standings both in 2012 and 2015.

“I’m definitely more prepared than last year, just coming into it feeling a lot more comfortable,” she said.

“I went through Q-School last year… missed out on the third stage, but the whole journey has also made me learn a lot about myself as a person and as a golfer.”

In her bid to become the first Singaporean to earn membership in the prestigious United States-based LPGA Tour, Koh competed in its initial round of qualifying school at the Mission Hills Country Club in California last August.

She will be part of a 63-strong star-studded field, which includes world No. 1 Lydia Ko and defending champion and world No. 2 Park Inbee. Previous winners Paula Creamer (2014), Stacy Lewis (2013) and Angela Stanford (2012) are also in the mix.

Despite the strong competition, Koh feels that being able to train on the “punishing” Serapong Course gives her a valuable advantage over the rest.

“I’ve been very lucky to be given access to practise here, and to train at the club,” she said.

BEST TIP

“I have benefited from it by being able to handle the course better; just knowing the course better than anyone else out here.

“The best tip I can actually give anybody is to plan your way around the golf course, to know where to miss and where not to be in. So that if ever you are off the green, you are in the best position to make par.”

It has not, however, been all smooth sailing for Koh, who prior to turning pro had supported her golfing expenses by taking on part-time jobs and giving tuition.

But she painted a brighter picture yesterday, saying the financial side of things is “going well at the moment”.

“Sentosa (Golf Club) actually did a fund-raiser for me. I’m talking to a few people, nothing is concrete yet,” she said.

With no halfway cut this week, Koh is certain to bank a cheque, with the last-place finisher guaranteed just over US$3,000 in prize money.

“This being my second tournament, I haven’t actually played a lot of events so I just really want to focus on this week at the moment, and deal with the other things in the future,” she added.

The SEA Games individual bronze medallist finished joint-33rd in her first tournament as a pro last week, when she competed against some of the nation’s best male golfers at the SPGA Edge Golf Classic, held at Laguna National.

“It’s an entirely different golf course from here and I played it more as a warm-up,” she said.

“I wanted to be in a competitive atmosphere. That will help me coming into this week… because (if not) it will be my first tournament as pro this week.

“I’m sure it just gets a lot of nerves out of the way.”

haziqm@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 3, 2016.
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The Singapore men’s table tennis team finished last in Group C at the World Team Table Tennis Championships here in Shah Alam after their 3-1 loss to Ukraine in their final match yesterday.

The paddlers are now out of the reckoning for a top-12 finish, the first time it has happened since 2010, when they eventually finished 16th.

But Clarence Chew, 20, said breaking into the top half of the 24-team Championship division this year was always going to be tough, with the composition of the group and Gao Ning’s injury.

Singapore were grouped with world No. 3 Japan, 2014 European team champions Portugal, Poland, Ukraine, France and Belarus, and finished the first round without a win.

Top paddler Gao Ning injured his ankle on the first day of competition and has not played since. He will return to Singapore today.

Said Chew: “I think we performed above our standard in the last two world championships; even with Gao Ning the group this year was already hard enough, but it was more difficult without him around, and we tried our best.”

Chew and Co. will now play for positions 13 to 24 in the competition, which ends on Sunday.

One positive from the group stages is that young paddlers Chew, Pang Xue Jie and Ethan Poh have tasted much more action.

Men’s national coach Liu Jiayi fielded all three – veteran Yang Zi was dropped – in the 3-0 and 3-1 defeats to Belarus and Ukraine, respectively, over the past two days.

Pang, 22, clinched the win of his career against Japan’s world No. 14 Koki Niwa in Singapore’s 3-1 loss on Monday, while Chew, world ranked 176, beat Ukraine’s world No. 130 Yaroslav Zhmudenko yesterday.

Liu said: “Yang Zi is not really team leader material since he is still recovering his form and is inconsistent.

“If that’s the case, why not let the local-born players gain more experience playing against high-quality players, something they are lacking.

“It is better to let the local-born players gain more experience now, while seniors like Gao Ning and Yang Zi are still around, than to have a vacuum when the two eventually retire.”

He hopes the trio, along with China-born Li Hu and Chen Feng, can raise their level quickly.

Said Liu: “Clarence can be our No. 1 in the foreseeable future.

“Both his and Chen Feng’s form are not bad, but Clarence is more stable in the mental aspect of the game.”

This article was first published on March 3, 2016.
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Nine of the world’s top 10 men’s singles shuttlers will be in town next month for the OUE Singapore Open, organisers confirmed yesterday, after the registration deadline last Tuesday.

Among Japan’s 21-strong team are world No. 3 Kento Momota, who is back to defend his singles title, and Nozomi Okuhara, who won the women’s singles title at the Badminton World Federation Superseries final in Dubai last year.

Momota (left), who also won the men’s singles title in Dubai last year, said: “Last year’s Singapore Open was a turning point in my career and I’m looking forward to coming back next month to defend my title.”

World No. 4 Jan O Jorgensen, bronze medallist at last year’s world championships, heads the Danish team and, with the likes of Chen Long, Lin Dan, Viktor Axelsen, Chou Tien Chen, Tian Houwei, Tommy Sugiarto and Kidambi Srikanth all in the mix, this year’s tournament at the Singapore Indoor Stadium promises to be a grand event.

EXCEPTION

The only exception is world No. 2 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who has decided to give the tournament, scheduled from April 12 to 17, a miss.

The South Korean team will be headlined by men’s doubles world No. 1 pair of Lee Yong Dae and Yoo Yeon Seong, and there are also entries from Taiwan, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Canada and the United States.

Singapore will field a 24-strong team, headed by Commonwealth Games 2014 men’s singles silver-medallist Derek Wong.

This article was first published on March 3, 2016.
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