Top Honours for Lee and Ng in SICC Junior Invitational

Singapore: Hong Kong, China international Isaac Lee posted a wire-to-wire victory in the 30th anniversary EFG/SICC Junior Invitational Golf Championship (JIGC).

Singaporean Jaymie Ng won the Girls Overall competition in the 54-hole tournament staged over the historic Bukit Course at the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC).

The JIGC is a World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) event sanctioned by the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) and title-sponsored by EFG Bank since 2022.

Lee, who entered the tournament as the highest rated male in 465th place in the WAGR, marked his SICC debut with rounds of 67, 67 and a closing 73.

“I had never played the Bukit Course before. It’s a really good and challenging layout. The greens are quite different and the grass is not something that we see on most courses in Hong Kong,” said Lee, who represented Hong Kong, China in last year’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Team Championships for the Nomura Cup and made the cut on his Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship debut in Australia in October.

Lee was this year named an EFG Young Athletes Foundation (EFG YAF) beneficiary, a scholarship programme run by EFG Bank that has supported many golfers and aspiring athletes from tennis, equestrian and other sports in Hong Kong for over a decade.

“I was excited to receive this scholarship. It was an important recognition for me because the Foundation has sponsored a lot of great Hong Kong golfers. It’s also a great motivation for me to keep working hard on my game,” said the 17-year-old.

Last year’s Best SICC Player, 14-year-old Troy Storm, claimed second place behind Lee on three-under 210, while 16-year-old Singaporean Brayden Lee carded a final round three-under 68 to finish on 214 (one-over) to win the Boys A Division cup (16 to 19-year-olds).

In addition to finishing second overall in the Boys competition, EFG/SGA Elite Squad Member Storm won the Lion Cup for Best Singapore Boy. He also defended his best SICC boy player award from 2022.

Royal Bangkok Sports Club’s Poramit Sangamee won the Boys B Division cup (13 to 15-years-old).

In a dramatic finish to the Girls Overall championship, Ng, the top-ranked girl entering the tournament at 480th in the WAGR, edged 15-year-old Chen Xingtong on the final hole.

Thanks to a closing 68, Ng, who entered the final round three strokes behind pace-setting Chen, took first place with an aggregate of four-under 209. That was two in front of Chen who signed off with a 73.

Ng, who represented Singapore in last year’s Queen Sirikit Cup and has made the cut in the past two editions of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, also won the award as the Best SICC Girl player and the Eagle Cup as the Best Singapore Girl for the week.

Royal Bangkok Sports Club player Aelisa Twiltermsup won the Girls A Division, with Singapore’s Jillian Kuk as first runner-up followed by Denise Ng, Jaymie’s sister.

Chloe Ng, who made a hole-in-one in the opening round, won the Girls B Division, with Passion Hsu finishing as first runner-up and Amelie Blossom Ng as second runner-up.