Q: Brad, it was a very windy week at Clearwater Bay, but you must feel proud for the Hong Kong Team, with 3 of them making the cut and Matt shooting a 64 in Round 2. Perhaps you could share a few thoughts on the team and the week?
A: Yes, I’m extremely proud of the Hong Kong Team. I know it was a lot of pressure on them hosting the event. We got a lot of good work in.
Matt’s 64 was definitely the highlight. It was an awesome round and good to see him up in contention, getting people to talk about a Hong Kong player being right in it. Unfortunately he didn’t deal with the weather very well in Round 3.
The other highlight was that Leon knowing he had to birdie the last hole to make the cut. On 18th he hit a 5-wood from the middle of the fairway and knocked it to two inches for an eagle. He made the cut by two.
For the whole week, it was great to have an event like that in Hong Kong. Getting such amount of interest in amateur golf is simply awesome for Hong Kong.
Q: You are good friends with Team China coach Michael Dickie. With Jin claiming the title, and two more Chinese players finishing in the top 20. What do you think that our Hong Kong boys can learn from their Chinese counterparts?
A: It’s good to see Michael back as the national coach. He was away for a while and the team certainly missed him. He knows a lot of the young guys well.
It was great to see Jin win. I’ve known Jin when I was Vice Captain for the Bonallack Trophy team. Jin was on that team when he was 15. He has a great mind and a great attitude. He kind of just goes with the flow. He handles pressure very well. The same goes for Guan.
If there’s anything our boys can learn: “Take your best shot. If you don’t come through in the end, it’s okay.” Team China and Team Hong Kong are proving that they are world-class amateurs. There will be more Chinese players looking at them and believing they can do it, too.
Q: We saw Yin-Ho Yue practicing with the team at the AAC. Yin-Ho finished third over-all in this year’s Junior Close, and tied-12th at HK Open Qualifier. Would you say Yin-Ho is the boy to look out for in your youth team squad?
A: Yin-Ho Yue is part of our Nomura Cup team that will be leaving for Abu Dhabi next Saturday. He is definitely the one to look out for. He works really hard. He went over to the United States in the summer and played for about two months. He has his sights set on getting to a good university, both academically and for golf. He gets along with the team very well. A bright future awaits Yin-Ho, no doubt.