She wasn't at her very best throughout the event but Tiffany Chan did just enough to win her third Hong Kong Ladies Close Amateur Championship in a row at Fanling last month.
Chan, 18, put in an accomplished final-round performance over the New Course to see off the challenge of two of Hong Kong's rising junior talents – Michelle Cheung and Mimi Ho – in what will likely be her last major event on these shores before heading to the United States this summer to be a part of the renowned golf programme at Arizona State University.
Trailing overnight leader Michelle Cheung, Chan carded a solid one-under-par 71 for a three-round total of 219 (three-over-par) and victory by two shots over Cheung and three from Ho, two 16-year-olds who are likely to vie for this championship and others in the months and years ahead.
"It wasn't easy today at all – I knew that Michelle and Mimi were playing well – so it feels great to have come through and win," said Chan, who has impressed at tournaments at both home and overseas over the past few years. "This will likely be the last time I play in the Close for a while, which makes winning it for the third time all the more important."
Opening up with consecutive rounds of two-over-par 74, Chan, arguably Hong Kong's finest-ever female amateur golfer, had complained of a decidedly cold putter over the first 36 holes but managed to get things moving on the final day with two birdies on her front nine to reel in Cheung who got off to a poor start.
Indeed, it was Ho, who celebrated her 16th birthday on the first day of the tournament, who looked to be Chan's main threat thanks to a solid opening nine holes. But a double bogey at the short 13th, followed by only a par at the par-five 14th (a hole that both Chan and Cheung had birdied) proved to be the Discovery Bay Golf Club member's undoing.
Chan on the other hand was nearly faultless. Using the experience she has gained from competing in top-class amateur events around the world, the Diocesan Girls' School student, who had birdied the 11th to take the lead, was in complete control. Finding fairways and greens with metronomic regularity, Chan effectively closed the door on her opponents with a rock-solid par at the tough par-three 17th, where she rifled a long iron to within 12 feet. A bogey at the last, where she found a greenside bunker with her approach, was the only demerit of an otherwise superb final nine holes.
Only Olivia Yu, who won the championship five times in as many years in the 1990s, has more Ladies Close titles than Chan.
"I didn't really have a goal at the beginning of the day other than to play safe and try to make as few mistakes a possible," said Chan, who finished fifth at last year's Callaway World Junior Golf Championship in California. "But to win this event three times in a row is special. It's something I'm very proud to have achieved."
Cheung, who attends South Island School, rallied well on the back nine to pip Ho for second place. Isabella Leung and Kitty Tam tied for fourth to further underline the strength of junior golf in Hong Kong,
In the Mid Amateur Championship, which is open to players over the age of 25, Cindy Lee, a former Hong Kong tennis international who many readers will recognise from her numerous film and television appearances, proved she was no novice with a golf club in her hand as she powered to a comprehensive win.
Rounds of 79, 78 and 81 wrapped up that particular division title and gave Lee, who was also a contestant at the 2005 Miss Hong Kong Pageant, seventh place overall.
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