From the President December 1995 will go down as one of the most important months in the history of Hong Kong golf. It was then that the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course commenced operations, thereby giving those local golf enthusiasts without club membership a place to play. Kau Sai Chau recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and in the years since, the facility has earned a much-deserved reputation for excellence. Regularly touted as the finest public golfing venue in Asia, the three courses – the original Gary Player-designed North and South layouts and the three-year-old East – have played their part in the development of tens of thousands of new golfers magnificently. Its role at the very centre of golf in this city cannot be exaggerated and the Hong Kong Golf Association is very grateful for their support, especially their support of junior golf. I very much look forward to seeing the continuing growth and success of Kau Sai Chau over the next 15 years. Kau Sai Chau was the host venue of the Mizuno Winter Junior Championship late December, which was won in fine style by Tiffany Chan and Shinichi Mizuno. Shinichi, who was the only amateur to play in November's UBS Hong Kong Open, has played some excellent golf recently and he
will join many of Hong Kong's finest amateurs in the field of the Montrose Fine Wines Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship over the Lunar New Year. The Close, which was won by Liu Lok-tin last year, is one of the city's most eagerly anticipated events and is sure to once again provide a very worthy winner. Stefan Albinski proved to be a very worthy winner at December's Ulferts Hong Kong Seniors Open Amateur Championship. The Australian successfully defended the title he won the year before with a super display at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Hong Kong players were well represented at the event, with Joe Pethes and Terry Collins finishing in a tie for fourth. Another event of note that is reported in these pages of this, the fiftieth issue of HK Golfer, is the Ageas Pairs Championship. Played annually at Discovery Bay Golf Club, the event's betterball format makes it an especially enjoyable tournament to participate in. Congratulations to all the winners and a note to all those who wish to play in it next year – sign up early! It's one of the most popular events on the calendar. Kung Hei Fat Choy! —Ning Li President HKGA
Shinichi Wins Mizuno Dream Cup HK Qualifying
Shinichi Mizuno is a step closer to fulfilling his dream of playing in the Open Championship at Royal St Georges this summer, but the 17-year-old West Island 46
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School student isn’t about to book his flights to the United Kingdom just yet. The aptly-surnamed Shinichi won the final Hong Kong leg of the Mizuno Dream Cup at the end of January, a result that earns him a berth into final qualifying for the Mizuno Open Championship -Yomiuri Classic, a Japan Golf Tour event held at the end of May. Whoever triumphs there will earn a much coveted spot at Sandwich in July. Nagoya-bor n Sh i n ich i, a Hong Kong international, seen here with the Japanese sports brand’s Ken Takafuku, fired a 76 over the Eden Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club to finish ahead of ju nior A mbrose Ta m (81), Chu
Koon-ching (81) and Derick Leung (90). Like Shinichi, Tam qualified for the four-man field courtesy of a high f inish at the Mizuno Winter Junior Championship. Chu and Leung earned their places after performing well at Mission Hills during the first Hong Kong leg of the Dream Cup. Despite the margin of his victory, Shinichi didn’t have everything go his way, especially after Chu, a senior, birdied four of the first eight holes to take the lead. A disastrous eight at the par-3 9th ruined Chu’s hopes however, and the long-hitting Mizuno, the only amateur to play in last year’s UBS Hong Kong Open, was able to cruise to victory. HKGOLFER.COM