Dominant Tan Triumphs at Laguna National

Singapore: Shannon Tan produced another dominant performance to successfully defend her title in the Open Girls' Division at the EFG Singapore Junior Masters 2021.

On the back of a record-breaking 36-hole score of 10-under-par (68, 66) over the Masters Course at Laguna National Golf Resort Club, the 17-year-old swept to victory in the event that featured players representing Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, India, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and South Korea.

Although Tan signed off with a closing 77, the Singaporean ended six shots ahead of Samantha Dizon from the Philippines, who carded a 67 to take second place.

“This is my second win at Laguna National this year. It’s my happy winning ground. It (the win) is another confidence booster for me. I know I can only improve and get better,” said Tan, who won the inaugural CarTimes Singapore Junior Development Tour Championship at Laguna National in June.

For her part, 17-year-old Dizon was simply pleased to have the opportunity to focus on making further improvements to her game.

“I need to continue to improve on my maturity, especially the mental and emotional aspect of my game. If I can do that, I’ll be able to do even better,” said Dizon, who picked up golf when she was eight.

Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau, who was playing in her first international event in two years, carded three rounds of 74 to claim third place in the Open Division.

“It feels so good to be able to compete overseas and be in that competitive mode again,” said the 14-year-old, who had the satisfaction of topping the standings in the Under-15 Girls’ Division.

“I have been very consistent, shooting the same score all three days. I was quite steady, considering this is a course I’m not familiar with. I made several friends this week and hope to be back again,” said Lau, who was selected for the Hong Kong Junior squad at the age of seven.

Daryl Low fired a closing one-under 71 to clinch the Open Boys’ Division. The 16-year-old’s three-day total of one-under-par 215 gave him a commanding eight-shot win over Ethan Lim, who signed for a 74 to take second place.

Laguna National member Jayaditya Saluja posted rounds of 74, 71 and 78 to finish in third place at the World Amateur Golf Ranking event.

Gea Hong Tho, EFG Bank AG’s CEO for Singapore and SEA region, confirmed that the Swiss-based company has committed to sponsoring the Singapore Junior Masters for another three years.

Gea said: “For our youth sponsorship programmes, we want to support them and have them to be on a longer-term basis so that we can see their growth and our objectives being met.

“We are not keen on sponsoring one-off events where we cannot see things to fruition in a short period of time. There is definitely dedicated commitment from us to see to the success of this event.”

Lyn Yeo, Founder of LLD Sports Development and Management, the event organisers, said: “It’s very important to have a stable and supportive partner because junior golf is a journey that takes between six to eight years to see the fruits of our labour and develop our champions for the future.”