Nicholas Lim and Kok Jo Ee shine in second leg of HSBC Youth Golf Challenge

Contributed by Shane Neubronner

Orchid Country Club, Wednesday, June 16 2010 — The second leg of the HSBC Youth Golf Challenge (YGC) saw Nicholas Lim and Kok Jo Ee emerge victorious in the Boys A and Girls A categories respectively at the serene Orchid Country Club.

Due to inclement weather, play on the second day of competition was called off and the final standings were based on the results of yesterday’s first round. There were close finishes in both sections, which comprised of youth golfers aged 15 to 17 years old, but both Nicholas and Jo Ee displayed the sort of composure and confidence throughout the competition that belied their age to top their groups.

Nicholas, who finished his round carding a 72, two strokes ahead of Ashwin Bhanu, was visibly excited about his victory. He explained, “I am really pleased with how I played yesterday – I shot three birdies and two bogeys. In fact, my form overall this season has been pretty good.”

Nicholas has hit form in the past few weeks defending his junior title at National Service Resort and Country Club (NSRCC) last week and today’s win is his second win in the HSBC YGC having won the first leg in 2009.

Jo Ee, a golfer currently training under the Youth Golf Excellence Programme (YGEP), had a close finish winning on count-back ahead of Saraswati Oka and was also very happy to win. She said, “I was pumped up after some top performances in the last few weeks. My training with the YGEP has certainly helped my current performances. We play twice a week on the course which is great for building my match confidence.”

Jo Ee won in India in May at the Asian Pacific Junior Tournament and last week picked up the girls’ overall title in the Faldo Series.

In the B Division, for promising golfers aged 12 to 14 years old, Marc Ong clinched first place ahead of Edgar Oh in the boys category, whilst Rachel Cheang took top spot in the girls group with Cheryl Looi placing second.

A total of 82 up-and-coming golfers took to the course today, which included 10 players from the YGEP initiated by HSBC. The programme was set up to develop promising golfers and increase their level of experience in the game by providing skills training as well as physical and psychological mentoring.

Featuring the nation’s top youth golfers, the HSBC Youth Golf Challenge is a series of four youth golf tournaments organised throughout the year by the Singapore Golf Association. The tournaments are open to students aged 12 to 17 years and are an invaluable opportunity for youth golfers to hone their competitive skills within a friendly and educational environment.

The HSBC Youth Golf Challenge, currently in its fourth year, also serves as an excellent complement to the HSBC Youth Golfers Programme, offering youth golfing talents of the programme with an ideal platform to gain vital exposure to competitions and different golf courses.

“HSBC is committed to being a Champion of golf worldwide. From events such as the world renowned HSBC Women’s Champions and WGC-HSBC Champions for professionals to programmes such as this HSBC Youth Golf Challenge for budding golfers, we aspire to be a long term sponsor of the sport. We are delighted to be able to contribute to the development of golf at a grassroots level and we are excited to see the next generation of golfing talent come through,” said Mr Guy Harvey-Samuel, HSBC Singapore Chief Executive Officer.

The third leg of the HSBC Youth Golf Challenge will be held from 6 to 7 September 2010 at the Kranji Century Country Club, whilst the final leg will take place on 7 to 8 December 2010 at the Laguna National Golf & Country Club.