Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Nguyen Tuan Anh is continuing to turn heads. Less than three weeks after winning the Singha Thailand Amateur Open, the 16-year-old Vietnamese gave the professionals a good run for their money.
Undaunted by his rivals in the Asian Development Tour’s (ADT) Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters, Tuan Anh produced another outstanding performance to finish joint second with seasoned American pro Dodge Kemmer, two shots behind the winner, Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit.
It was just the latest impressive showing for Tuan Anh this year, to go alongside his victories in the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, the Vietnam Junior Open and the Vietnam National Championship Vinfast Cup, an event on Vietnam’s domestic professional circuit.
He also finished runner-up to New Zealand’s Cooper Moore in the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation Junior Boys’ Championship in Hong Kong in May.
On the back of those performances, Tuan Anh has risen to 168th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), the second highest-rated Vietnamese in the standings after Nguyen Anh Minh (41st).
Sarut, who played alongside the teenager in the final round of the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters at Royal Long An Golf & Country Club, did not hide his admiration for Tuan Anh.
“He certainly has a bright future ahead of him,” he said. “He got me scared a little bit on the back nine when he started making birdies coming in. He’s definitely got game and we will be seeing him a lot out here.”
Two weeks earlier, Tuan Anh etched his name into the record books as the first Vietnamese winner of the Singha Thailand Amateur Open.
At the par-70 Panya Indra Golf Club, Tuan Anh was unstoppable, opening with a sensational 10-under, a round which contained 11 birdies and a bogey.
From that point he never relinquished the lead, carding bogey-free rounds of 65 and 64 on days two and three. He closed out with a 69 to finish five strokes clear of Thais Thanawin Lee and Teerawut Boonseeor, the joint runners-up.
Next up for Tuan Anh are the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain next week and the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in early December.
