Lai Crowned Hong Kong Close Amateur 2018 Champion

Former First Team All-Ivy League golfer Jonathan Lai claimed the 2018 HK Close Amateur Championship title

Jonathan Lai (left) receives the 2018 HK Close Amateur Championship trophy from Danny Lai, CEO of the HKGA

“I had actually taken a long break from golf; I didn't play from April to December in 2017. So, I am very pleased with the way I played. It took a while for me to get comfortable on the course finally. In the first round, I was very uncomfortable and thinking a lot on plenty of shots. But towards the end of the tournament, I was able to stop thinking too much and just played golf.

“The weather on the second day was actually the toughest, as it was very windy for most of the day. I luckily have some experience playing in windy conditions during my collegiate golf career in the states, specifically in the northeast. A lot of the pin positions in the third and final round were tough, resulting in a lot of missed putts. I think as guys were getting used to the pins, scores started getting lower, which you could see in the lower scores in the final round,” said Lai, the son of Lai Law Kau, former Hong Kong National Soccer Team player.

Left to right: Matthew Cheung, Taichi Kho and Terrance Ng

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