Singapore: National squad member Lucius Toh produced a gutsy comeback to retain his title in the Faldo Series Singapore Championship.
Thanks to a closing one-over-par 73 at Jurong Country Club, 17-year-old Toh overturned a three-stroke overnight deficit to secure a return trip to China for next year’s Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, to be hosted by Sir Nick Faldo.
Toh’s three-round total of seven-over 223 gave him a two-stroke winning margin from Jacqueline Young, who claimed victory in the Girls’ Division in the 13th leg of the record-breaking 2014-15 Faldo Series Asia season.
They will be joined in the World Amateur Golf Ranking stroke play event at Mission Hills Shenzhen next March by Tommy Tan Xuan Hao, third overall and winner of the Boys’ Division.
It was a battling performance from scratch-handicapper Toh who found himself languishing in joint eighth place after an opening-round 78 – six shots off the pace being set by James Leow Kwang Aik.
Toh hauled himself up the leaderboard into a share of second place with an even-par 72 on day two, sparked by an eagle-three at the first hole.
But surprise second round leader Tan was still leading the way with just nine holes remaining before he stumbled with a quadruple-bogey eight at the 10th en route to an inward 42 that saw him drop to third.
In contrast, Toh was a model of consistency, his final round made up of 15 pars, two bogeys and a solitary birdie at the par-four 15th.
He received his prizes from Singapore Golf Association [SGA] Secretary Yee Woon Yim and Jurong Country Club Captain Ross Tan and Keppel Club Captain CS Kong, both Executive Board members of the SGA.
Six-time Major championship winner Faldo, Britain’s most successful golfer, said: “Congratulations to Lucius on his success. I look forward to seeing how he fares against the leading players from around the region when we all gather in China next year.”
Supported by The R&A, ISPS and Mission Hills and endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, the 2014-15 Faldo Series Asia campaign stretches over 11 months and is made up of a minimum of 20 championships.