Scott Barr Wins by Five

Scott Barr has ended his season with a commanding wire-to-wire victory on the Singapore PGA Circuit.

Barr's 54-hole total of 4-under par at Raffles Country Club was good enough to triumph by 5 shots over Unho Park and Mardan Mamat.

Congratulations Scott on a nice finish to the year!!

Barr Maintains Lead at Raffles

Scott Barr has shot an even par round of 72 to be at 5-under through two rounds of the SPGA's final tournament of 2010. Barr will enjoy a 3-shot lead going into the 3rd and final round.

Raffles Palm Course has proved to be very difficult for most players, with only Barr and Mardan Mamat being under par after 36 holes of play. Marc Kawasoe who has worked on his swing technique under my instruction at the Academy, put together a nice 2nd round of 71 to lie in 4th place.

Playing on an amateur invite, Edgar Oh remained consistent with a second successive round of 74 to be in 8th place with just one round to play.

Barr Leads SPGA Event

The final tournament on the SPGA Circuit for 2010 is underway at Raffles Country Club. The event is being played over 3 rounds on the Palm Course, with Scott Barr opening up a huge 5 stroke lead after the first days play. Barr shot 67 on day one, blitzing the back nine in just 31 strokes. Barr leads a group of fellow Asian Tour players headed by Zaw Moe on even par 72.

Academy junior Edgar Oh, playing on an amateur invite, shot a commendable first round 74.

Marc and Edgar Claim HSBC Youth Titles

Academy juniors Marc Ong and Edgar Oh have capped off a brilliant year of golf at the Final Leg of the HSBC Youth Challenge.

Marc Ong (pic above) claimed the Overall HSBC Youth Golf Challenge Series Title for 2010. Marc shot a terrific round of 3-under par 69 in the second and final round at Laguna National to gain enough points to narrowly finish ahead of Edgar Oh on 128pts to Edgar's 125pts. The win has earned Marc a trip to compete in the 2011 HSBC China Junior Golf Open to be held at Shenzhen Zhongzheng Golf Club from 20-23 January 2011.



Edgar, (pic above) who shot the round of the year with a 7-under par 65 on the first day of competition, finished with a 73 to comfortably win the Boys "A" Division title by 5 strokes.

In the Girls "A" Division, Lim Jia Yi took second place with rounds of 78,79. In the Girls "B" Division, Dion Lim (pic below) shot a second round 74 to claim another victory for our Academy students.



Well done to all winners!

Edgar Impresses at HSBC Youth Challenge

14yr old Edgar Oh has once again made everyone stand up and take notice after he fired a blistering 7-under par round of 65 in the opening round of the HSBC Youth Challenge. Edgar, the reigning Open Amateur Champion reeled off 8 birdies and just one bogey around the Laguna National Masters Course to take a 4-shot lead.

Other commendable results from our Academy juniors in the 15-17yrs division came from Princeton Yeo, Abdul Hadi and Nicholas Lim who all shot 75. Billie Pay and current HSBC Youth Order of Merit leader Marc Ong both shot 76. In the 12-14yrs division, Lucius Toh got off to a solid start with a round of 77.

Senior Triumphs in Dramatic Playoff

Peter Senior has triumphed at the Australian PGA Championship for the 3rd time in his career after a dramatic playoff victory against fellow Aussie Geoff Ogilvy. After a legendary performance at 51yrs of age, Senior will go into the record books as the oldest winner of the Kirkwood Cup, a trophy he also claimed in 1989 and 2003.

Ogilvy stormed into contention on the 5th day of the rain-affected tournament at Hyatt Regency Coolum after shooting a 6-under par 66 to take the clubhouse lead on 12-under. Senior then birdied the 72nd hole in spectacular fashion to force a playoff. The tournament then went into a sudden-death playoff where Senior triumphed on the 2nd extra hole after Ogilvy 3-putted for bogey.

Since his first professional victory in the 1979 South Australian Open, Peter Senior has incredibly recorded tournament victories across five decades!

Congratulations to Pete for a brilliant performance in becoming the 2010 Australian PGA Champion!! Congratulations and credit must also go to Gary and Luke Edwin who have done such great work with Pete's golf swing and putting stroke...well done guys! What an awesome end to the 2010 season!!

Senior Contends for third Australian PGA Title

At 51yrs of age, Peter Senior is in contention to claim his 3rd Australian PGA Championship, 21yrs after his first victory at Riverside Oaks.

Senior fired a 3rd round 68 to be 11-under for the Championship and lies just one shot off the lead held by American Bobby Gates. On a difficult windy day at the Hyatt Regency Coolum, Senior made 5 birdies with his only dropped shot coming at the opening par 5 1st hole. Senior credited the work he has done with Gary and Luke Edwin for a solid three days of putting. Senior has had a terrific record around the Hyatt Coolum golf course over the years and will certainly be hard to beat if he continues to putt well again tomorrow.

Best of luck Pete!!

19th SICC Junior Invitational

Several Academy juniors contested the 19th SICC Junior Invitational played over 54 holes at SICC's Bukit Course. The Bukit Course has played host to several international professional tournaments. In recent times the course has been the venue for events such as the Johhnie Walker Classic, Singapore Open, Singapore Masters and The Lexus Cup.

There was a strong international flavour at this years event, with junior competitors representing Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, China, India and Philippines. Other countries represented outside of Asia included Australia, USA, Canada and UK.

The best performance among our students went to Singapore National Squad member Marc Ong who fired rounds of 69,72,75 to win the Boys 13-15yrs division by one shot over Thailand's Nattawat Suratjanakorn. 14yr old Edgar Oh climbed his way up to 4th behind Marc after he finished off his week with a 2-under par round of 69. Billie Pay's commendable 2nd round of 69 helped him secure a top 10 finish in the 16-19yrs division.

Aus PGA Championship - round 1

Gary Edwin has a small stable of players competing at this years Australian PGA Championships which is being played at Hyatt Regency Coolum on the Sunshine Coast.

At the completion of the first days play, Rod Pampling and Scott Laycock are the best of his charges after both shot rounds of 4-under par 68. Pampling put together 4 birdies and an eagle in his round while Laycock reeled off 6 birdies and a couple of bogeys. The 2003 Aus PGA Champion Peter Senior opened his 2011 campaign with a 70. The newest player to join the Edwin stable, Michael Campbell, continued his return to form with an opening 1-under par round of 71.

Barr Secures Japan Tour Card

Scott Barr has made it through the gruelling 6-round Final Stage of Japan Tour Qualifying School on 7-under par and in a tie for 39th place. The top 90 players out of a field of 182 have earned their right to compete on the Japan Tour in 2011 with the higher ranked players gaining more tournament starts next year.

Barr will divide his playing time next year between the Japan Tour and Asian Tour where he currently lies 21st on the Order of Merit with one tournament remaining. The season will come to a close at next weeks US$600,000 Black Mountain Masters in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Well done Scott...all the best on Tour in 2011!

Michael Campbell seeks out Gary Edwin

Former US Open champion Michael Campbell has had a difficult time on the golf course over the past 2 years. In 19 events on the European Tour in 2010, he missed the halfway cut as many as 16 times. Only twice did he shoot rounds in the 60s; on nine occasions he soared into the 80s. And his winnings of €13,576, a far cry from the $2,496,269 he collected on the European Tour in 2005.

Fortunately things now appear to be turning around for Cambo. A couple of weeks back Campbell seeked out the help of "The Guru" Gary Edwin and began refining his swing technique. He then shot four steady rounds at the Australian Masters, finishing tied for 28th place. Then at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney last week, Campbell put together rounds of 71,71,69,70 for a 7-under total and a tie for 12th at the Australian Open Championship.

“The last three days have been very encouraging,” said Campbell, after posting a third round of 69.

“I’ve been working with a new coach in Gary Edwin for the last two weeks. He’s been a great help. I hit 15 greens in each of the first two rounds and 16 today. If I’d had any luck on the greens at all, I would be right up there in contention. That’s a nice feeling. I couldn’t really have been further south than I was this season.

“Still, I have to admit I’m happy just to be heading in the right direction. We’ve worked hard on just simplifying everything. In fact, I’ve been doing the same off the course. We moved house recently and I threw out a lot of stuff. Basically, I’ve done the same with my golf swing; I’ve thrown out all the rubbish. Gary has given me a new lease of life. Today, I hit so many quality shots that finished pin-high, which is always a good sign. At last I’m swinging the club well.”

Gary Edwin has had an obvious and immediate influence on the Kiwi's game. “All we’ve really done is get Michael back to swinging the way he was when he won the US Open at Pinehurst in 2005,” Edwin says.

“He has so much talent; it didn’t take him long for him to get back to ‘flushing’ it. Once he starts putting better, he’ll be back in contention before long. I’m looking forward to watching him next year.” And while Campbell started working late last year with legendary Scottish coach Bob Torrance, Campbell confirmed his arrangement with Edwin is permanent.

So much so, Edwin will travel with Campbell to Abu Dhabi mid-January for the first event of Campbell’s new 2011 European Tour season.

Barr Tied 5th in Japan

Scott Barr added a 3-under par 69 to his opening round of 68 at the Japan Tour's Final Stage Q-School. Scott is 7-under par and just 4 shots out of the lead. Gary Edwin's students Scott Laycock is 2-under par and currently in a tie for 58th.


There are 184 players competing in this Final Stage, with the field cut to the top 90 players after 4 rounds, before another 2 rounds to determine each players ranking for the 2011 season. The Japan Tour Q-School is the most gruelling of qualifying schools with the Japan Tour being the most lucrative Professional Golf Tour in Asia.

Sock Hwee and Edgar Finish 2nd

The 5th and Final NRG for 2010 was played over 54 holes this week with our Academy students taking out 2nd place for both the Men's and Ladies divisions.

It was hard work and a high-scoring event for the ladies as they were pushed back to compete off the "white tees". Koh Sock Hwee (pic above) fought off former Academy student Kok Jo Ee for 2nd place, 5 shots adrift from eventual winner and another former Academy student Joey Poh.

In the Men's division, it was another solid performance from our youngest ever National Open Amateur Champion Edgar Oh who had rounds of 73,75,72 for a 2nd place finish behind former Singapore Sports School student Joshua Shou. 15yr old Marc Ong who led the pack into the second round, slipped back into a tie for 7th after an unfortunate triple bogey on the par 5 10th hole.

Australian Open - round 1

Rod Pampling (pic above) and Peter Senior are both off to a great start in the 2010 Australian Open. The pair shot matching 4-under par 68's around the Lakes Golf Club in Sydney. Pete Senior is coming off a wire-to-wire victory in the Australian Senior Open in Perth and looks to once again contend for the Aussie Open title...a championship he last won in 1989.

Final Stage Japan Q-School underway

The 4th and Final Stage of the long and gruelling Japan Tour Qualifying School got underway yesterday at Central Golf Club (Ibaraki).

Scott Barr (pic above) opened his six-round campaign nicely with a 4-under par 68 on the East Course to sit just 2 shots off the pace. Leading the pack are fellow Asian Tour players Angelo Que and Chawalit Plaphol who also played their first round on the East Course. Australia's Scott Laycock who has been refining his swing technique this year under Gary Edwin, is on 2-under around the West Course.

Academy Juniors Take Early Lead

The 5th and final National Ranking Game for 2010 got underway yesterday with our Juniors charging to the top of the leaderboard.

In the Men's division, Marc Ong shares the lead with Gregory Foo after they shot similar rounds of even par 72 at Tanah Merah Tampines Course. Edgar Oh is just one shot back after shooting 73. Other respectable scores from the junior contingent came from Ashwin Bhanu with 76, Abdul Hadi 77 and Billie Pay 77.

In the Ladies division, Lim Jia Yi shot a solid round of 4-over par 76 to lead by 2 shots over SLGA National player Joey Poh.

The next round will be played at Raffles Palm Course, then back to Tanah Merah for the 3rd and final round.

2 Wins for Marc in Annual MGA SGA Match

Marc Ong, the youngest member of the SGA Men's National Team collected 2 points for Singapore in the Annual Match against The Malaysian Golf Association held at the A'Famosa Golf Resort, Malaysia.

Marc and playing partner Kenji Cheung were defeated in their opening 4-Ball match but Marc bounced back in the Foursomes, pairing up with former Academy student and fellow Singapore Sports School golfer Gregory Foo to beat their Malaysian opponents 3&2. Marc then backed it up with another victory in his Singles Match after beating Low Khai Jei 2&1.

Although a great effort by young Marc, it was not enough to help Team Singapore retain the Annual Trophy with MGA winning 14 1/2 points to SGA 9 1/2 points.

Academy Teenagers Dominate Club Championships

15yr old's Marc Ong and Lim Jia Yi have claimed impressive victories in their respective club championships.

First it was SGA national squad member Marc Ong who took out the 2010 NSRCC Men's Club Championship played over 2 weekends at NSRCC's Kranji Sanctuary course. Marc opened his championship campaign with rounds of 71 and 69 for a commanding 13-shot lead. The 3rd day's play had to be abandoned due to poor weather and Marc then went on to the final round where he further extended his lead and claimed a brilliant wire-to-wire victory.

It was then another teenagers turn to upstage the adults, as Lim Jia Yi made it all the way through to claim victory in the 2010 OCC Ladies Club Matchplay Championship. Jia Yi had a gripping semi-final match against another Academy teenager, Cathleen Wong. The match was all-square coming down the 18th hole where Jia Yi was fortunate to make a 4 against Cathleen's 5 to win the match. Jia Yi then went on to win the final 3&2. Jia Yi's good fortune on the golf course did not stop there, a few days after claiming the Matchplay crown she joined me for a game at Raffles Country Club where she recorded her very first hole-in-one on the par 3, 3rd hole of the Palm Course. Congratulations Jia Yi!

Nicholas Wins Brisbane Amateur Championship

17yr old Nicholas Smits has fired a superb round of 67 at the Keperra Golf Club to take out the Brisbane Amateur Championship.

Nick trained as a junior golfer under my guidance at the Singapore Academy where he collected numerous international titles including the Asia-Pacific Junior Championship and a commendable 3rd place finish at the prestigous World Junior Championship. Realizing Nick's huge potential in the game, arrangements were made for him to continue his training and studies on the Gold Coast, Australia. It was a huge move and sacrifice for a kid of his age to leave his family and friends but Nick's determination, passion and talent for the game has helped make his time in Australia a huge success.

Nicholas now playing off an impressive +3 handicap, trains with Gary Edwin at The Glades Academy and is studying at the All Saints Anglican School, located just a few minutes down the road from the Golf Academy.

Nicholas has recorded some fine results in 2010 including 3rd at the Queensland Boys Amateur Championship, 2nd in the Greg Norman Junior Classic and 2nd in the Gary Player Junior Classic. He also claimed convincing wins in both The Glades and The Colonial Club Championships.

Congratulations Nick on a fine achievement!!

Wire to Wire Victory for Peter Senior

Peter Senior has won the 200 Handa Australian Senior Open title by 3 strokes over Sandy Lyle at the Royal Perth Golf Club.

Senior complete a hugely impressive wire-to-wire victory, compiling rounds of 65-70-72 to post a nine under par winning score to take the €54,498 first prize in what was the first event of the 2011 European Senior Tour season.

Senior, who narrowly missed out on claiming the title in 2009 after losing in a play-off to fellow Australian Mike Harwood, was delighted to finally get his hands on the Handa Australian Senior Open trophy.

He said: “It’s been a great week. The course was sensational and it’s been great to see the European boys out this week. “I would have liked to have played a little bit better coming down the stretch. I think I played a little bit safe, which is why I made a few mistakes, but nobody really came after me. “I’m really happy to finish on top, especially after what happened last year, when I let a lot of guys in. To win golf tournaments whether it’s Senior or the main Tour you’ve still got to play well to win. It still feels great winning tournaments.”

Former Masters and Open Champion Sandy Lyle secured second place on his own with a final round of 69.

Former British Open Champion and PGA Tour commentator Ian Baker-Finch, making his return to tournament golf also put together a solid performance finishing in a tie for 15th on even par. Finchy was on the Gold Coast early this year working on his golf swing with Gary Edwin in preparation for some Senior Tour events.

Congratulations Pete Senior on a well-deserved victory!!

Barr Tees Up with John Daly

Scott Barr has enjoyed his 3rd round of the UBS Hong Kong Open with playing partner and two-time Major Champion John Daly. Daly is always a crowd pleaser and was going along nicely at 2-under through 13 holes before a disappointing double bogey-bogey finish for a round of 71. Barr upstaged his long-hitting playing partner, dropping just one shot on the day for a round of 68.

Peter Senior Holds the Lead

Peter Senior will take a 3-shot lead going into the final round of the 2010 Handa Australian Senior open. Senior added a 2-under par 70 to his first round 65 to be at 9-under for the championship and 3 strokes clear of fellow Aussie Peter Fowler.

The lead could have been larger had it not been for two rare bogeys late in today's second round which will give hope to a suddenly hot chasing pack when it had once appeared gone.

"I played pretty good and had a lot of opportunities through the middle of the round," the Queenslander said. "I thought if I could pick up a couple (of birdies) around 10-13, I might spreadeagle the field and have a little bit of a coast tomorrow, but then a three-putt on 15 and a bogey from nowhere on 16 and it's still a contest."

Senior and Fowler have played many big tournaments together and Senior is convinced it would take something spectacular for one of them not to hold on today.

"Three shots is absolutely nothing. The guys at three under are really going to have to shoot a good score to get in front of myself and `Chooky' because I'm pretty sure that one of us will go ahead". Senior led by four shots heading into the final round of the Open last year at the same venue and was eventually beaten by Mike Harwood in a play-off. "It's there for me to win and there for me to lose ... but I don't want to let them in again" said Senior.

It has been a very consistent year for Senior who competed in his first season on the US Champions Tour in 2010, making the cut in all 25 events played and finishing top 25 in 18 of these tournaments. Senior ammassed US$821,666 in prizemoney in his rookie year on the Champions Tour, finishing 20th and securing his playing rights for the 2011 season.

Best of luck to Pete for tomorrow's final round!

68 for Scott Barr in Hong Kong

Scott Barr opened his UBS Hong Kong Open campaign with a round of 68 that included 5 birdies.

Fabrizio Zanotti who trains at the UK Academy with Luke Ringrose also played nicely with an opening round of 67.

Barclays Singapore Open - Final Round

Scott Barr returned to Sentosa in the early hours of monday morning to complete his final round of the 2010 Singapore Open. Barr had 9-holes remaining on his round and started nicely with a birdie on the 1st hole. He picked up another 2 birdies on the 5th and 6th before dropping a shot at the 9th...his final hole of the championship to close out the tournament with a 1-under par round of 70. Daniel Vancsik finished the tournament in a tie with Scott on 3-over for the championship.

Congratulations to Adam Scott (pic right) who shot a final round 68 to win his 3rd Singapore Open title!!

A Monday Finish for Barclays Singapore Open

After a long week of disruptions to play owing to bad weather, the final round of the Singapore Open was delayed for 5 and a half hours as heavy rain and lightning covered the Serapong course.

Players went back out on course late on Sunday afternoon to complete as much as they could of their final round before darkness set in. Play will resume at 7:30am on monday morning with Adam Scott still holding onto the lead.

Barclays Singapore Open - Round 3

Play got under way in the 3rd round at Sentosa Golf Club without many of the tournament's high profile players. With the halfway cut at 3-under par, the likes of European players Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington, Robert Karlson and Paul McGinley all found themselves outside the cut mark after 2 rounds. Also having the weekend off are two of Asia's leading players Thaworn Wiratchant and Noh Seung Yul who is trying to become the Asian Tour's youngest ever Order of Merit winner.

Barclays Singapore Open - Round 2

Right-Siders Scott Barr and Daniel Vancsik have survived the halfway cut at the US$6million dollar Barclays Singapore Open. Barr could not quite keep the momentum going from his earlier morning round where he recorded 7 birdies and an eagle. After a very long and exhausting day which saw Barr complete 31 holes, he ended the day on a total of 3-under par for the tournament. Argentina's Daniel Vancsik who trains with Right-Sided coach Luke Ringrose clawed his way back into the tournament with a round of 66 to be at 4-under for the Championship.

Singapore Sports School student Edgar Oh was doing a terrific job at managing his game against a world-class professional field and stood at even par through his first 11 holes around Serapong...one of the toughest courses in the region. The young star found the going tough through the next stretch of 6 holes which are notorious for claiming many victims. Edgar narrowly missed his birdie on the 18th and tapped in for a par and a round of 77, receiving a huge applause from the local supporters. What an amazing experience for a 14yr old!!

Australian Adam Scott who played a practice round on tuesday with our own Edgar Oh, fired consecutive rounds of 65 to take the 2nd round lead on 12-under par. Adam is 2 shots ahead of defending champion Ian Poulter.

Barclays Singapore Open - Round 1 Continued

Play resumed at 7:30am on friday morning for those players who were yet to complete thursdays opening round. Scott Barr (pic above)resumed his 1st round on the Tanjong course with par at the 6th and 7th holes before a brilliant approach shot on the par 4 9th hole hit the flagstick, setting up a birdie opportunity which he converted to close out his first nine holes of the tournament with a 6-under par score of 30. Barr then added another birdie on the difficult 11th before two terrific shots on the par 5 12th set him up for an eagle opportunity and a chance to take the outright lead on 9-under. The eagle putt narrowly slid past the edge of the hole but Barr tapped in the birdie for a share of the lead on 8-under par through 12 holes. With a 3-putt bogey on the 13th and a birdie on 16th, Barr was still holding a share of the lead with two holes to play.

Barr hit yet another great approach shot into the par 4 17th hole which set up a 6ft birdie putt and another opportunity to take the outright lead. He was unable to convert the birdie and with a bogey up the last, Barr signed off for a very impressive yet slightly disappointing round of 64.

Barclays Singapore Open - Round 1

Singapore Sports School student Edgar Oh (pic above) made history when he teed off this morning alongside Indian Jyoti Randhawa and Australia's Richard Moir at the Singapore Open. Edgar becoming the tournament's youngest ever qualifier at just 14yrs of age. After hitting a terrific approach shot into Tanjong's 4th hole, the siren went off and play was suspended due to inclement weather. A 4hr rain delay was to follow and all afternoon tee times were then pushed back meaning that Scott Barr did not hit his first shot of the tournament until 5:10pm, leaving very little light in the day.

Edgar played some commendable golf for a young kid in what is now being called "The Major of Asia", placing himself in position to shoot a solid even par round until some unfortunate putting woes on the final green. Edgar settled for an opening round of 75 however the score did not reflect how well he struck the ball and composed himself under the pressure of being the tournament's youngest competitor.

Scott Barr came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders as he put together birdies on the 3rd, 4th and 5th holes before a magnificent approach on the par 5 6th hole set up a short eagle opportunity which he rolled in to go 5-under through his first 6 holes. Unfortunately just as he was building some good momentum, play was suspended for the day due to darkness.

Preparing for the Barclays Singapore Open

Scott Barr accompanied Singapore Open Amateur Champion Edgar Oh for his final round of practice at the Tanjong course in preparation for the opening round of the 2010 Barclays Singapore Open. This years tournament will see 204 players compete over 2 rounds on the Serapong and Tanjong courses at Sentosa Golf Club before the field is cut to the top 65 players who will then play over the weekend on the demanding Serapong course.

Other Right-Siders in the field this week include Daniel Vancsik, Jason King and Fabrizio Zanotti who trains under the guidance of Luke Ringrose at the UK Academy.

Edgar plays alongside Adam Scott

14yr old Academy student Edgar Oh was privileged on tuesday with the opportunity to rub shoulders with 2005/2006 Barclays Singapore Open Champion and reigning Australian Open Champion Adam Scott. Joining them for tuesdays practice round was 2-time Asian Tour winner David Gleeson as well as Guido Van Der Valk of the Netherlands.

Adam was full of praise and encouragement for the young Singaporean!

Edgar earned his place in the 2010 Barclays Singapore Open by virtue of his impressive victory in this years Singapore Open Amateur Championship. Edgar will create history when he tees it up on thursday as the youngest ever to play in the Singapore Open. He is also one of the youngest ever to compete in a European Tour event.

Best of luck this week to both Edgar and Adam!!

Jason King Tops Singapore Open Qualifiers

Asian Tour player Jason King has emerged at the top of the qualifying field for the 2010 Barclays Singapore Open. Jason shot 67 around The Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club to tie with South Korean Kim Young Jin and claim one of 5 qualifying spots that were on offer.

Jason was recently in Singapore working on his game at the Academy prior to the Iskandar Johor Open. King is a good ball-striker and a very long hitter who I expect to put up a good showing at Sentosa next week.

The US$6million Barclays Singapore Open will tee off at Sentosa Golf Club from November 11-14. This years event will have all four Major champions of 2010, headed by US Open winner and Europe's Ryder Cup hero Graeme McDowell. He will be joined in the elite field by Masters champion Phil Mickelson, British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen and US PGA Champion Martin Kaymer. 3-time Major champion Padraig Harrington, Asia's first Major winner Y.E. Yang and 2-time Singapore Open Champion Adam Scott will also be in Singapore to contend for the prestigous title.

For the second year running the Barclays Singapore Open will be joint-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and The European Tour and for the first time a field of 204 players will compete on both The Serapong and The Tanjong Courses.

Barr through to Final Stage

After winning 2nd stage of the Japan Tour Qualifying School, Scott Barr has cruised through the 3rd stage to earn his place in the field for the Final Stage to be played in December. Scott's third round score of 4-under par 68 was the lowest of the entire tournament as players battled around an extremely tough golf course in very difficult conditions. Barr ended the week T17th as the top 27 players moved on through to Final Stage and one step closer to earning full playing rights on the Japan Tour for 2011. Joining him in the Final Stage is fellow right-sider Scott Laycock who has been working on his swing this year with Gary Edwin.

SPGA Presidents Cup

The Singapore Professional Golfers Association held the 2010 Presidents Cup this week over 54 holes at Warren Golf & Country Club. Coming off the back of a 5th place finish at the Iskandar Johor Open, Scott Barr posted three steady rounds of 70,71,71 to take 3rd place behind fellow Asian Tour regular Mardan Mamat.

Barr Closes with 66 at Iskandar Johor Open

Scott Barr put together another great performance on the Asian Tour, finishing the US$1.25million Iskandar Johor Open on 14-under and in a tie for 5th place behind eventual champion and 3-time major winner Padraig Harrington (pic below on range).

Barr posted earlier rounds at Horizon Hills of 67,70 and 71 before reeling off 7 birdies against just one bogey in the final round for a 6-under par 66. Scott was paired in the final round with the two young superstars of the Asian Tour, 19yr old Korean Noh Seung-yul and Thailand's 20yr old Kiradech Aphibarnrat. There was some incredibe golf played between the three of them as they ammassed a total of 20 birdies and 1 eagle for the day!! I was fortunate to be there to witness this impressive display of shot-making and putting.

Scott finished ahead of some world-class players including KJ Choi, Colin Montgomerie and Retief Goosen. Scott's statistics for the week in Johor were also quite impressive....

Driving Avg: 308yds
Fairways: 70%
Greens in Regulation: 75%
Putts per Round: 28.75

Scott now moves up into 17th place on the Order Of Merit and has past US$1million in prizemoney on the Asia Tour since joining as a member in 2004.

Marc runner-up in Johor Amateur

The Johor Amateur Championship was held at the Legends Golf Resort from October 6-8
and our young junior Marc Ong once again demonstrated his talent against a field of older more experienced amateurs from the region. Marc's game got better each day with rounds of 73, 72 before closing with a 1-under par 71 to claim 2nd place.

Fellow Academy student, 15yr old Abdul Hadi also put together a commendable performance taking 5th position with scores of 79, 71 and 74.

Well done boys!

Barr 7th at Mercuries Taiwan Masters

On a very challenging golf course and in extremely tough conditions, Scott Barr has added another top 10 finish to his Asian Tour season with a 7th placing at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters. Scott finished just 5 shots off the winning score recorded by another right-sider from Thailand, Pariya Junhasavasdikul. It was Pariya's first Asian Tour victory. Scott's solid ball-striking and accurate iron play always sees him fair well on very tough, narrow golf courses.

Nicholas 2nd at Gary Player Classic

17yr old Nicholas Smits has finished just two shots out of the lead at the 2010 Gary Player Classic held at Pacific Golf Club in Brisbane. Nicholas put together a terrific performance against a quality field of junior golfers from across Australia. With rounds of 71,72,71 and 71 for a total of 3-under par, Nicholas ended his week in 2nd place behind Cameron Smith from Royal Queensland Golf Club.

Well done Nic!

Update July to September

In July this year I accompanied Marc Ong and Phoebe Tan (pic below)to the 2010 Junior Open Championship in Scotland. The R&A had invited the leading junior boy and girl from 77nations to compete at this event which was held in the days leading up to The 2010Open Championship. It was an incredible experience for these two young Singaporeans, who had the chance to meet with former Open Champion Paul Lawrie at the tournament's opening ceremony. Once the championship was underway, players were faced with bitterly cold, wet and unbelievably windy conditions....unlike anything you will ever experience in South-East Asia! Both Marc and Phoebe played commendable under these brutally tough conditions, with Marc finishing 18th overall behind Japan's Kenta Konishi and Phoebe (pic below)wrapping up a nice 4th place finish in her division.




Following the final round of the Junior Open Championship, we stayed on as guests of the R&A to follow the action at The 150th Anniversary Open Championship at St Andrews. From watching Tiger play his monday morning practice round (pic below), to Rory McIlroy's incredible opening 63, to supporting Peter Senior as he went on to make the cut at age 50, to Louis Oosthuizen's unlikely yet impressive 7 stroke victory....it was a brilliant week at the Home Of Golf!








During the time we were in Scotland, two of my junior girls, Monica Matsubara (pic below)and Lim Jia Yi were over in the United States competing at the Callaway Junior World Championship. 13yr old Monica had earned herself a place in the tournament after winning the qualifying tournament in California with a sensational round of 73! Playing in the 13-14yr division of the championship, Monica put together rounds 3very consistent rounds to finish T43rd against many girls more than one year older. 14yr old Jia Yi recorded a terrific 2nd round score of 73 but could not maintain her form during the final day's play and slipped back into a tie for 62nd. It was a great experience for these two young girls and no doubt they will have benefitted from playing against many of the world's best junior golfers.


July ended with another fantastic result for the Academy with Marc Ong(pic below)winning the Warren Open Amateur Championship...his first Amateur Title and first World Amateur Ranking Event...all at the age of 14!


In August, Scott Barr stormed home in the final round of the Brunei Open on the Asian Tour with a 7-under par 65, moving him up into a tie for 16th. Scott continued his solid form the following week at the Asian Tour's Worldwide Selangor Masters (pic below)where he recorded a 7th place finish. Scott then teed it up in The Merecedez-Benz Masters Singapore, held at Laguna National Country Club. With rounds of 70,67,73 and 68, Scott finished 10-under par and T5th behind Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol.


The next event in Singapore was the National Amateur Championship held at Tanah Merah Tampines Course. After the strokeplay section of the championship, it was our two 14yr old superstars Marc Ong and Edgar Oh who once again upstaged the older more experienced amateurs with total scores of 1-over and 2-over respectively to lead the top 16 qualifiers through to the matchplay section. Edgar won his opening match but lost his 2nd match on the last hole to National player Johnson Poh. Marc defeated former Academy student Tim Pinnegar in round 1 (pic below)and then fought his way through to the semi-finals against Johnson Poh. Johnson was too strong however and went on to win the final against former Academy student George Foo. Marc then won a thrilling playoff match for 3rd place against Jerome Ng after a 37-hole marathon!


Rounding off the August tournament schedule was the biggest event on the local calendar for Amateurs...The Singapore Open Amateur Championship, held at Warren Golf & Country Club. With some incredible results this year for our juniors Marc Ong and Edgar Oh, we eagerly waited in anticipation to see how these 14yr old future stars of the game would perform against an international field of leading amateurs. After showing great form in preparation for the event, Marc was unfortunately forced to withdraw owing to illness. It was then left to Edgar to demonstrate his talent and he did not fail to disappoint with consistent rounds of 71,73,73 and 74. He held off challenges from some of Asia's most accomplished Amateur golfers to make history in being crowned the youngest ever Singapore Open Amateur Champion! Adding to this amazing achievement, as the Amateur Champion, Edgar (pic below)earns himself a spot to play in the 2010 Barclays Singapore Open!! When he tees it up at Sentosa in November alongside many of the best professional golfers in the world he will again make history as the youngest to have ever qualified for this tournament and one of the youngest to ever play in a European Tour event.


A team of our golfers representing the Singapore Sports School travelled to Jiraprawat Golf Club in August for the 2010 Thai Sports School Games. Lucius Toh and Nadhra Aqilah did us proud by winning the Individual Gold medals in their respective divisions with Tan Yong Jia bringing home a Bronze. In the team event we claimed one Gold and three Silver medals.

In September, Marc Ong and Edgar Oh represented Singapore at the Lion City Cup played in Kuala Lumpur. The Lion City Cup is the junior version of the Putra Cup which sees the very best amateur golfers from South-East Asia compete for the team and individual titles. It was yet another incredible performance from our very own Edgar Oh (pic below)who won the Individual title with a sensational final round 68, beating Jobim Antonio Carlos of the Philippines by 2 strokes. The Singapore team took 3rd place behind Philippines and Thailand.

Singapore Handa Classic

The Singapore Handa Classic, a new event on the Asian Tour schedule was played at Orchid Country Club from September 9-12. It was familiar territory for Scott Barr who has joined me for several rounds on this course over the years. Scott fired rounds of 71,67 and 68 to be 10-under going into the final round. He played nicely through 13 holes and had clawed his way up to 5th place before dropping shots on three of the last 5 holes to slip back to 12-under for the tournament, 9 shots behind eventual winner Peter Karmis of South Africa who finished his week 21-under par.


Singapore's Gregory Foo (pic left) gave the local crowd something to cheer about ending his week as the leading amateur on 4-under par, which included an impressive opening round of 67. Gregory previously trained under my guidance (pic below)for a period of 6years during which time he accumulated numerous international junior titles including the Asia-Pacific Junior Championship and a 4th placing at the prestigous Callaway Junior World Championship. Gregory has proven he can perform on the big stage and has a bright future.

Scott Barr 23-under in Japan

Scott Barr has played sensational golf to win the 2nd stage of the Japan Tour Qualifying School held at Noburukosu Arima Royal Golf Club, Kobe. With rounds of 67,65,66,67 for a 23-under total, Scott won the qualifier by a comfortable 4 stroke margin over Japan's Yanagi Takashi. Scott will now advance through to the next stage of qualifying in a bid to attain full playing rights on the Japan Tour for the 2011 season.

Academy Update March to June

Well it's been a very busy year both on and off the golf course with several of our players recording some terrific results. Here's an update on what's been happening since I last posted some news back in March....

The 9th National Inter-School Championships was held in March at Marina Bay Golf Club. 14yr old Marc Ong fired a superb opening round of 5-under par 67 and followed it up with a second round 74 to comfortably defend his National Schools title. Once again our students from the Singapore Sports School (pic below)dominated the competition, collecting 10 medals.


June was a busy month for junior golf in Singapore with a total of four tournaments being contested. Firstly it was the Singapore Junior Open Golf Championship played at Keppel GC. Marc Ong continued his good form to claim the 12-14yrs title by a massive margin of 10 strokes after rounds of 73,74,75. Marc played his way into contention for the overall title with 6 holes to play but could not quite keep up with Malaysia's Jeremiah Kim and Marc eventually ended in a tie for 3rd place overall against the 15-17yr old boys....a great effort for his age! Marc also paired up with Kok Jo Ee (pic below) to win the team event for Singapore. In the female junior category Dion Lim played consistently well over three days to finish as runner-up in the 12-14yrs division.


The second junior event in the June was the NSRCC Junior Open held at Kranji Sanctuary, and yet again it was Marc Ong walking away with the 12-14yrs title after shooting consistent rounds of 73,75,75. Marc beat fellow student Edgar Oh by a comfortable 8 stroke margin. 14yr old Marc looked set to also win the overall title against the 15-17yr old boys until another of our students, Nicholas Lim played flawless golf on the back nine to record a final round of 3-under par 69, denying Marc of the victory. It was a very impressive ball-striking and putting round for Nicholas who managed to successfully defend the title he won in 2009! Other commendable performances from our boys were recorded by Abdul Hadi (2nd, 15-17yrs) and Billie Pay (3rd, 15-17yrs). In the girls division, Academy student Rachel Lim finished 3 shots clear of fellow student Nadhra Aqilah to claim the overall girls championship....her first major junior tournament victory!

The Faldo Series (an Under-21 event) played over 2 rounds at Raffles Country Club on June 9/10 saw some incredible golf by Academy student Edgar Oh. Edgar was out of action early in the season after suffering from a fractured wrist and had struggled with his game since returning to competitive golf. However this tournament proved no struggle whatsoever for the 14yr old, opening with a 3-under par round of 69 to take a share of the lead with SGA National Squad member Jerome Ng. Playing in the championship group on day 2 with boys nearly 6yrs years his senior, Edgar stayed well composed to get it to 7-under for the championship with 9 holes to play. He dropped a few shots on the back nine but bravely hung in there to post a 1-under par 71...forcing a playoff against Jerome. A brilliant up-and-down on the second playoff hole clinched the victory for Edgar (pic below). Edgar's win has earned himself a spot in The Faldo Series Asia Grand Final to be held in China.


The 4th and final junior tournament in the June holidays was the HSBC Youth Challenge which was once again dominated by our students. Due to bad weather the second day's play was abandoned with Nicholas Lim (pic below far left)being named champion in the 15-17yrs division following his 1st day score of 1-under par 72 at Orchid Country Club. Fellow student Ashwin Bhanu took second place with a 1-over par 74. In the 12-14yrs category it was the two up and coming guns in Singapore golf...Marc Ong and Edgar Oh finishing on a similar score of 2-over par 75, with Marc (pic below far right)being named the champion on a countback. The girls 12-14yrs division was won by Singapore Sports School student Rachel Cheang (pic below right).