Singapore: Shannon Tan will become Singapore’s first Olympian in golf after the 20-year-old sealed her place in the Paris Games following the conclusion of the qualifying period for the women’s golf competition.

Tan will be among the top 60 women golfers teeing-off at Le Golf National in August after securing her place via the final Olympics Golf Ranking.

Tan, 181st in the Rolex Women’s Ranking, has enjoyed a stellar season since turning professional in February. Barely a month after she joined the paid ranks, she won the Magical Kenya Ladies Open on her debut on the European Ladies Tour.

She followed up that breakthrough victory with four top-15 finishes, including a tied-third result at the Ladies Italian Open a fortnight ago.

Tan said: “Like any other sports fan, I have watched the Olympics since I was very young. Seeing the efforts that the athletes put in for their country is something that is mind-blowing.

“For sure you could feel the burden of that pressure, but I honestly believe it is a great honour and opportunity to be the first Singaporean to compete in golf at the Olympic Games. I am looking forward to flying the flag for Singapore.” 

Tan Chong Huat, President of Singapore Golf Association said: “Our entire golf community in Singapore is beyond thrilled that Shannon is going to be our first golf Olympian when the golf competition starts in August.

“She has shown immense talent and potential to be a world-class player from a very young age. We are now looking forward to following her progress at the Games and wish her every success.”

Among her notable achievements as an amateur, Tan won the China LPGA Tour’s inaugural Singapore Ladies Masters at Laguna National Golf Resort Club last year, the same venue at which she was individual runner-up in the 2022 Amateur Ladies Asia-Pacific Invitational Golf Team Championship, also known as the Queen Sirikit Cup.

Tan also had the honour of representing the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation team at last year’s Solheim Cup-style Patsy Hankins Trophy match play event against the European Golf Association in Spain.

*The Singapore Golf Association is an Associate Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.