HKGA | TOURNAMENTS
Coming of
Age
Doug Williams put in a classy display at Fanling last month to win the Munsingwear Hong Kong Seniors Amateur Close Championship at his first attempt, writes Alex Jenkins. Photography by Daniel Wong
W
i lliams, who became eligible for the tournament after turning 55 in February, carded a blemish-free 70 in the closing round to finish nine shots clear of the field and will surely be rewarded with a place in the Hong Kong side for November’s AsiaPacific Senior Amateur Championship. The American was consistency personified on the final day, making 17 pars and a solitary birdie over an at-times rain-swept Old Course.
Man of the moment: Williams takes dead aim with a wedge during the final round of a championship in which he cruised to victory
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“I’m feeling my age right now,” quipped Williams, a member of the Hong Kong Golf Club, who opened up with rounds of 75 and 72. “It was a hard slog in the rain and I was out of breath on nearly every shot.”
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With his victory, Williams becomes the first player to have won both the Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship (a feat he achieved in 2006) and its senior equivalent. Joe Pethes, one of Hong Kong’s all-time great senior players, is a three-time winner of the event. His 226 total earned him a tie for second spot and victory in the 60-64 age division
Two other Fanling members, Tony Taylor and three-time Seniors Close champion Joe Pethes, finished in a share of second, with defending champion William Chung a further 10 shots back in fourth. Williams, whose fine amateur career to date includes a win at the 1982 Spanish Amateur Championship, was quick to point out the advantage that he and other Hong Kong Golf Club members had at this year’s event. “The Old Course is tricky, so knowing its nuances helped for sure,” he said. With his victory, Williams becomes the first player to have won both the Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship (a feat he achieved in 2006) and its senior equivalent, which was introduced in 2003. “It was a pretty unspectacular round to be honest,” said Williams of his closing one-underpar effort. “But my game has been good recently and while I didn’t make many putts, I hit a lot of solid shots and hit a lot of fairways. If you’re able to keep the ball in play you’re going to score better.” His convincing performance was made all the more remarkable after overcoming sciatic nerve pain on the eve of the championship. “I couldn’t sleep and I could barely walk but I’m fine now,” Williams explained. “As you age you have to take care, you have to be a bit more careful. Golf is fun for me at the moment and keeping injury free is the goal.”
Akiyoshi Kubota, a Discovery Bay member, in action
Defending champion William Chung blasts from a bunker during a final round of 77
Tony Taylor finished in a share of second with a total of 226
Motonobu Yanai secured a top-10 finish with a final round 80 Roderic Sage got off to a solid start with a firstround 77
Munsingwear Hong Kong Seniors Amateur Close Championship 1
75 72 70
217
86 82 89
257
2= Tony Taylor
75 76 75
226
3
19 Matajiro Nagatomi
85 90 84
259
77 73 76
226
20 Ng Kwok-kuen
87 87 87
261
82 77 77
236
21= Hau Wing-wah
85 87 91
263
77 79 84
240
87 85 91
263
6= Akiyoshi Kubota
78 85 78
241
23 Ricky Leung
88 86 90
264
Chu Koon-ching
83 75 83
241
24 Youn Jae-ung
85 88 92
265
8
Motonobu Yanai
78 84 80
242
25= Cheung Mau-cheong
88 91 87
266
9
Nicky Au
82 80 82
244
90 88 88
266
10 Peter Reed
82 83 83
248
27= Brian Soo
97 83 87
267
11 Lee Kab-soo
79 80 90
249
Peter Aherne
86 86 95
267
12 Kim Dong-kyu
84 85 82
251
29 Tommy Shiu 4
92 89 88
269
13 Kam Muk-yau
87 86 79
252
30= Chow Tak-yiu
91 87 92
270
14 Pang Kin-wing
79 91 84
254
91 86 93
270
15 Brian Harris
88 90 78
256
16= Tony Lau
87 89 81
257
86 84 87
257
Joe Pethes
4
William Chung
Daniel Wong (Lam); Patrick Leung (Barr)
5
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Doug Williams 1
2
Roderic Sage
Fursy Chung
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Masanori Yoshino
Liu Kin-leung
Wong Yick-chiu
Mao Lim-kong
Chu Koon-ching, the 2011 winner, placed tied-sixth
Doug Williams and his hard-earned silverware
Denotes Division 55-59 Winner Denotes Division 60-64 Winner Denotes Division 65-69 Winner Denotes Division 70 & Over Winner
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