With some of the world’s most beautiful and well-maintained courses, Singapore is counted among the best hosts for major golf events, evident by 2023’s crop of prestigious tournaments.
The Lion City has earned its coveted place among the best golfing destinations in the world. The Master’s Course at the Laguna National Golf Resort Club is one of the world’s best courses and has been the venue of prestigious tournaments such as Caltex Masters. The Marina Bay Golf Course is Singapore’s only 18-hole public golf course. There is also the splendid 27-hole golf course at Orchid Country Club, one of the most luxurious private members’ clubs in Singapore.
Of course, the Sentosa Golf Club, with its two renowned courses — The Serapong and The Tanjong — is the crown jewel of all golf venues in the city-state.
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The sport is already heating up on local shores with the 2023 calendar featuring prestigious tournaments that would see some of the best players in the world teeing off on the courses. The Laguna National Golf Resort Club played host to the Singapore Classic from 9 to 12 February. Later in the year, LIV Golf will make it debut here, bringing with it golfers the likes of Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, and Phil Mickelson to local shores.
The Singapore Classic is part of the DP World Tour, previously known as the European Tour. The tournament marked the return of the DP World Tour to Singapore for the first time in nine years. The championship and its prize purse of SGD 2.77 million were won by Ockie Strydom of South Africa.
(Hero and featured image credits: Dusit Thani Laguna Singapore & Sentosa Golf Club/@SentosaGolfClub/Twitter)
The golf tournaments and events to bookmark in Singapore this 2023:
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When: 2-5 March
Course: The Tanjong at Sentosa Golf Club
Location: Sentosa
One of the biggest golf tournaments of the year, HSBC Women’s World Championships is part of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour in which some of the world’s best female golfers compete against each other. The four-day sporting event marks the 15th edition of the tournament. The 72-hole stroke play tournament is hailed by pundits and fans as ‘Asia’s Major,’ largely because 12 of its 14 winners progressed to become Major champions.
All the top five names in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings are participating in 2023. World No.5 Jin Young Ko of South Korea, who won the tournament in 2022, will be defending her title against World No.1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and World No.2 Nelly Korda of the US. World No.3 and 2022 US Open champion Minjee Lee of Australia is another strong contender and so is World No.4 Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, who, at 20 years old, is the youngest of the five.
Image credit: HSBC Women’s World Championship/@HWWCGolf/Twitter
2 /7
When: 9-12 March
Course: The New Course at The Singapore Island Country Club
Location: Singapore
In 2022, Ting-Hsuan Huang of Taiwan created history by becoming the first player from her country to win the tournament. She will now be defending her title against a line-up of over 80 other competitors from across member countries of the Asia-Pacific Golf Federation (APGA). Rin Yoshida and Yuna Araki of Japan, who are ranked No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on the Women’s Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) list, are the biggest challengers. Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto, who won the title in 2021, will try to repeat her success.
The tournament was founded in 2018 by The R&A and APGA to help catapult emerging talent from Asia onto the international stage. Winners of the tournament earn invitations to play in the AIG Women’s Open, the Amundi Evian Championship and The Chevron Championship as well as elite championships, including the Hana Financial Group Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. One of its best-known champions is Atthaya Thitikul who later became World No. 1 on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
Singapore, the host of the inaugural edition of the tournament, plays the host for a second time. The 2023 edition is also the first since the COVID-19 pandemic that the championship is moving back to the March slot.
Image credit: Graham Uden/R&A/R&A via Getty Images
3 /7
When: 17-19 March
Course: Laguna National Golf Resort Club
Location: Singapore
The 2023 Aramco Team Series, which is part of the Ladies European Tour (LET), will be held in five rounds. Singapore is one of the five countries where the tournament’s rounds will be held. Not only is the Lion City the first host of the 2023 edition, but it is also the first time that a round of the prestigious tournament is being held here.
Round One will see 26 teams of four golfers competing for a total of SGD 1.3 million in prize money. Of the four, three will be pro golfers while one will be an amateur. There will also be a three-day individual stroke play golf competition between 78 pro golfers, whose individual title wins help improve Rolex Rankings and Solheim Cup ranking points and are part of the Race to Costa del Sol Official Rankings.
Lydia Ko and World No.17 Danielle Kang of the US are set to compete in the tournament. Kang is a Major champion and has five other LPGA Tour wins. This tournament will be the second after HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore to feature both Ko and Kang.
Image credit: Laguna National Golf Resort Club/@lagunanationalgolfresortclub/Facebook
When: 28-30 April
Course: The Serapong at Sentosa Golf Club
Location: Singapore
Singapore is hosting the third round of the 14 tournaments of the 2023 LIV Golf League. The round will be held at The Serapong course of the golf club.
The Sentosa Golf Club – one of the oldest golf clubs in Asia – is one of the three marquee destinations outside of the US where the tournament will be held. In 2022, the club won the award for the World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility for the third consecutive year. It was also named Asia’s Best Golf Course at the 2022 World Golf Awards and Singapore’s Best Golf Course at the 2022 Asian Golf Awards.
The tournament will witness 48 of the world’s best players, including former Singapore Open champions Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia as well as Major champions Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cameron Smith, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson.
Image credit: Sentosa Golf Club/@SentosaGolfClub/Twitter
5 /7
When: 12 May
Course: Seletar Country Club
Location: Singapore
Metta is a welfare organisation founded in 1992 by Shi Fa Zhao, the abbot of the Golden Pagoda Buddhist Temple. Among its charitable works is providing affordable medical care for the less fortunate, special education for children with intellectual disabilities and community care services for the elderly, students and children.
The Metta Charity Golf is an annual fundraising event which was first held in 2000. Golfers and sponsors wishing to participate in the event can fill up a donor form.
Image credit: Seletar Country Club/@SeletarCountryClub/Facebook
6 /7
When: 18 May
Course: The Tanjong at Sentosa Golf Club
Location: Sentosa
Around 200 golfers and sponsors are expected to participate in the FaithActs Charity Golf Tournament. FaithActs is a charitable organisation founded in 2004 to help at-risk youth. It now also extends assistance to children with learning difficulties, disadvantaged families and seniors.
Through the 2023 golf event, the charity aims to raise SGD400,000 for the development of its 4th Centre at the new Dawson-Margaret Drive estate. Singapore’s Minister of Education will be the guest of honour at the event. To participate, individuals and groups can download the participation form and/or donate via Giving.sg.
Image credit: Sentosa Golf Club/@SentosaGolfClub/Twitter
7 /7
When: 17-21 July
Course: Orchid Country Club
Location: Singapore
The Singapore Open Amateur Championship is one of the oldest golf tournaments in the country. The 2023 event will be its 75th edition. The 72-hole stroke play championship draws some of the best talents from around the region, primarily from Australasia.
In 2022, Yash Majmudar of India won the men’s division of the tournament by defeating Weerawish Narkprachar from Thailand and Isaac Lam from Hong Kong in a three-way playoff. Mirabel Ting of Malaysia won the women’s division in a closely-fought encounter with Hailey Loh of Singapore.
Winning the tournament is significant as not only does it affect the player’s position on the WAGR list but also earns him an invitation to participate in the Singapore Open.
Image credit: Orchid Club
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
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