HKGA | HK SENIORS OPEN
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Terry Collins claimed a convincing victory in the 70 & over division
Doug Williams collected yet another trophy with an emphatic win at last month’s Hong Kong Seniors Open, writes Alex Jenkins.
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Photography by Daniel Wong
n-form Doug Williams cr uised to victor y at t he Hong Ko n g S e n io r s O p e n A m a t e u r Championship wit h a near flawless performance at Fanling in mid-November.
The Hong Kong Golf Club member, who held a seven-stroke lead entering the final round after opening with scores of 69 and 74, shot a level-par 71 over the Old Course to end 14 shots ahead of his nearest rivals, Australia’s Alan Evans and defending champion Michael Barltrop of New Zealand. “I’ve been playing pretty well and hitting the ball pretty steady,” said Williams, who became the first Hong Kong player to win the event since 2004. “I’ve got a routine that I stick with, my short game has been solid and I’m hitting a lot of fairways, which makes a difference around here. My aim is just to try and play smart golf – not to try and play shots I’m not capable of – and of course I have quite a bit of local knowledge too.” Alan Sutcliffe, one of the legends of Hong Kong amateur golf who represented the territory countless times throughout the 1950’s, 60s and 70s, was on hand to present Williams with the trophy named in his honour – the Alan Sutcliffe Salver – for being the leading Hong Kong golfer. Tony Taylor was the next best Hong Kong finisher. Rounds of 77, 78 and 78 were good enough for fourth place. Chu Koon-ching, who won the 60-64 division, tied for fifth in the overall category alongside Alex Ho of Taipei, while Terry Collins, the last Hong Kong winner of the event (in 2004), claimed a convincing eight-shot victory in the 70 and over bracket. Williams, who turned 55 in February to become eligible for senior golf, has been in a rich vein of form this year. The 1982 Spanish
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Peter Reed in full flow
HK GOLFER・DEC 2013
Williams now has three Senior titles to his credit since turning 55 in February Amateur champion claimed the Hong Kong Seniors Close Amateur in May before winning the Kau Sai Chau International Amateur Open in early October. Just a week later he added the Singapore Open Senior Amateur Championship to his ever-growing list of titles.
2013 Hong Kong Seniors Open Amateur Championship 1 2= 4 5= 7 8= 10=
Doug Williams Alan Evans Michael Barltrop Tony Taylor Chu Koon-ching Alex Ho Joe Pethes Mike Grimsdick Tatsuo Asai Masanobu Murakami Lee Kab-soo William Chung Peter Reed
HKG AUS NZL HKG HKG TPE HKG HKG CAN JPN HKG HKG HKG
69 74 71 75 78 75 72 78 78 77 78 78 80 82 78 83 78 79 83 79 80 81 82 80 75 86 82 82 84 78 80 82 82 81 80 83 79 82 83
Chu Koon-ching is all smiles on the final day
214 228 228 233 240 240 242 243 243 244 244 244 244
HKGOLFER.COM
Mike Grimsdick earned a share of eighth
Tony Taylor on his way to fourth spot
Doug Williams receives the Sutcliffe Salver from Hong Kong amateur great Alan Sutcliffe
HKGOLFER.COM
HK GOLFER・DEC 2013
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