Singapore: Koh Sock Hwee has secured her place in one of Asia’s most prestigious golf tournaments, after claiming victory in the HSBC Women’s Champions Host Country Qualifying Tournament.
In a closely-fought struggle with 2013 winner Christabel Goh, it was Koh who emerged triumphant at Sentosa Golf Club, a Golf Facility member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.
The 25-year-old, Singapore’s number one female amateur golfer, shot a one-over-par 73 in the second round of the qualifying tournament, giving her an aggregate of 154 over the two days.
That was two shots clear of Goh who carded rounds of 80 and 76 respectively.
Koh said: “I actually didn’t have as good a start as I wanted but I just hung in there and played well on the back nine.”
Looking ahead to next month’s eighth edition of the HSBC Women’s Champions, Koh added: “I’ll try and play a lot more on the course and really need to sharpen my short game and just get more comfortable making putts.”
With the top six ranked players plus the defending champion already confirmed to play, Koh will stand shoulder to shoulder with some of the most recognised names in the game including Park In-bee, Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis, Michelle Wie and Paula Creamer.
Daniel Fitzpatrick, Head of Communications, HSBC Singapore, said: “Congratulations to Sock Hwee for earning her opportunity to pit herself against the world’s best female golfers in March. Our vision at HSBC, beyond staging world-class tournaments, has always been to grow the sport at all levels, which is why we have always focused on building up interest in golf among the community and developing young talent.”
Low Teo Ping, Club President of Sentosa Golf Club, added: “It’s wonderful to see the return of the HSBC Women’s Champions Host Country Qualifying Tournament to Sentosa Golf Club. We extend our congratulations to Sock Hwee.
“As the host venue for this prestigious tournament, it is very heartening to witness the continued strong representation and the high standard of play among our local golfers. We look forward to welcoming Sock Hwee back to Sentosa in just over a month’s time when the international golfing community will once again turn its attention to Singapore for what is one of the most highly regarded tournaments on the LPGA calendar.”