Heavy rains may have shortened the three-day Trust Golf Singapore Junior Masters driven by CarTimes Group event, but it did not dampen the spirit of the competition. In fact, this year’s boys’ Open division was fought tooth and nail from the get-go.
Singapore national player, Brandon Han, may have just played his last competitive round as a junior at the Masters course at Laguna National Golf Resort Club, and he did it in style too, by winning it.
Bhumkit ‘Heart’ Pitchayasaowapak of Thailand
But it was 14-year-old Bhumkit ‘Heart’ Pitchayasaowapak from Thailand who started strong and set the pace for the rest of the field. Currently ranked 3rd in the Thailand Junior Golf Association’s nationwide ranking system, Heart, as he is also called, showcased the quality that pervades the development that has made the country one of the best golfing nations in the Far East.
His birdie-birdie start led to a strong front nine that ended with two more birdies on holes 7 and 8 to turn over at 4-under-par 32. Two bogeys and a single birdie at the back resulted in a first day total of 3-under 69 to lead the tournament with Han, who also shot a steady 69 through scintillating play at the back nine.
The leaders started Day 2 from the 10th in the afternoon and played three holes before rain brought them back. Heart took the clubhouse lead at 3-under after trading a 10th hole birdie with a bogey at the par 3, 12thhole after hitting his tee shot into the water.
Han made bogey at the par 5, 11th, just one shot behind after three holes, and when it was clear that they would not go back out, the tournament was shortened to two rounds with the deciding holes to be played out the next day.
On Day 3, the Thai boy again started strongly again with a birdie at the narrow par 4, 13th to stretch his lead to two and made no mistake throughout the rest of the front nine. Han did well to save them back with birdies on the 15th and 16th but gave back one shot at the difficult par 3, 17th hole.
“I hit it to the bunker on the 17th and my second shot nearly ended in the water, but fortunately, I was able to go away with a bogey from there,” said Han.
Bhumkit ‘Heart’ Pitchayasaowapak (far left) walking down the fairway with compatriots.
The turning point came at the par 5, second hole, which Han was confident he could do well, but little did he expect his opponent to catapult. A difficult par 5, especially for shorter hitters, the green is well-guarded with water all along its left, and that was where the young Thai player made his mistakes.
“I hit a good drive and was left with a 6-iron into the green. He was further back and had to hit a three-wood, which ended up in the water. He then proceeded to hit his next shot into the water as well and ended with a triple-bogey. The pin was tucked to the left, so I played it safe, hit a draw from the outside in and landed pin high, 25-feet from the pin,” said Han whose eventual birdie took him from being one-stroke behind to three strokes ahead with seven holes left to play.
“At that time, I just told myself to play aggressive golf and keep my foot on the pedal. I’m leading by three and I want to keep making birdies, and stretch my lead,” he said.
And he did, making yet another birdie on the par 5, 7th hole before dropping a late double bogey on the next hole to reduce his lead to two. To his credit, Heart had quickly shaken off his earlier setback and played steady golf, making pars the rest of the way until the final hole.
“The 17th was nervy, but I told myself it was just one hole, I played great before that and now I’ve got to focus on what’s important and that was to hit my tee shot into the fairway,” Han said.
Still with a two-shot lead as he headed to the final hole of the tournament, Han hit his tee shot which landed just on the first cut of rough with 120 meters left to a tough pin tucked to the back right of the green.
“That pin was in the toughest position that the 18th green could give you, so I needed to be smart here. I had adrenaline flowing, and had a flyer lie, so I decided to club down to a 50-degree wedge and hit it to the center of the green. I hit it exactly so and when it landed, I thought it might have been a bit short but then I heard the gallery cheering, and knew it was good,” he said.
Han was left with a 15-footer. Heart, who had hit after him, stuck his shot closer to about 12-feet. Both ended up making birdie and the championship went to the Singaporean.
“It was a great way to end the year, and my days playing junior golf,” said the 20-year-old who has amassed an impressive 10 titles and 26 other top-10 finishes from 2016 and is now setting his sights on open amateur events next year.
Together with the Open division, Han also won the U-20 division. Pitchayasaowapak, or Heart, took home the U-16 title, while Malaysia’s Andrew Yung won the U-13 division. In the girls’ category, Arianna Lau of Hong Kong is champion of the Open division with an impressive 4-under two-day total. She is also the U-16 winner, leading by two shots over Alisa Inprasit of Thailand.
Another Thai contender Natnaree Charnchanayothin tied with Indonesia’s Elaine Widjaja for third place, a further two shots back.
The girls’ U-20 division was won by Hannah Cheryl Alan from the UAE while French Louise Uma Landgraf secured victory in the U-13 with two steady rounds of 71, 71 for a 2-under total, a whopping nine strokes ahead of second place Sasi-On Wattanakorn and Kankawee Linjongsubongkong of Thailand. Singapore’s Sydnie Ng returned in 5th place. Landgraf is also tied runner-up in the girls’ Open division together with Inprasit.
In the team categories, the U-20 title was shared between Team India Warriors and Team Singapore Gunners with Team Malaysia taking third place. The U-16 team title was won by Team Thailand APJGA UNO with Team Hong Kong Chasers and Team Thailand The Genz D in second place. The U-13 went to Team Thailand Natchanan, followed by Team Thailand The Genz A and Team Singapore Power Par Girls in third place, signaling yet another successful finish to this preeminent junior golf event put together by LLD Sports Development and Management.
“Kudos to the winners of this year’s championship and we are glad to witness the gritty play and determination from the juniors, many who had come from all over the world to play in our event. Most of all, I would like to thank Trust Golf and Laguna National, both of whom had shown faith in us by supporting our event and junior golf development in the region,” said Lyn Yeo, founder of LLD Sports and the Singapore Junior Masters.
Title sponsor Trust Golf has also offered exemptions into the Thailand Mixed Series in 2023.
