Young blood added to Singapore’s national golf squad
Singapore, August 29: Promising juniors Victoria Yeong, Samuel Tan and Reyes Halim have been selected as new squad members as the Singapore Golf Association (SGA) adds new blood to its national squad.
Held at the Singapore Island Country Club on Thursday, the duo are among 13 new names added to SGA national squad with their selection based on their performances in a one-year cycle, squad trials and order of merit rankings.
The others are Ashley Wee, Chloe Yap, Elina Veejay, Cayden Leong, Cayden Tay, Kieran Tan, Vinh Ahn Phan, Atlas Lin as well as Norman Hakim and Keeshuan Tan, who are both named in the development squad list.
Yeong, who has been selected into the junior development squad, showed signs of her potential after carding her personal best of two-under-par 70 during the third round of the Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) Championship where she would eventually finish second behind fellow development squad member Jaymie Ng.
“Being selected to join the national squad program is a tremendous honor and a significant milestone for me. This selection not only serves as a validation of the time, hard work and dedication my family and I have invested in since I first started golfing at eight years old, but also represents an exciting opportunity to compete at the highest level and represent my country on the international stage,” said Yeong.
“I am deeply grateful for the trust placed in me by SGA, eager to learn from my teammates and coaches, and cannot wait to contribute to the continued success of our squad,” added the 15-year-old.
18-year-old Tan finished second behind Troy Storm in the squad trials to earn his way into the junior national squad while Reyes clinched the top Junior Development Squad Order of Merit spot to earn his way into the program after securing three top-10 finishes in World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR)-ranked events since July 2023.
“It means a lot to finally get the chance to represent Singapore in the sport I love. I hope to lower my scoring average by two to three strokes, and hopefully compete in many tournaments for Singapore on the international level too,” said Tan, a junior national squad member now.
14-year-old Reyes, the newly inducted junior development squad member, also shared Tan’s sentiments and said: “I have a chance to represent Singapore and compete in as many international tournaments as possible now and my goal is to be among the top-three golfers in the U18 category.”
National coach Murray Smit said: “We are constantly on a talent scout to find the most promising golf talents to represent Singapore at elite level competitions either locally or abroad.
“These latest additions to the list of players we had announced earlier in February will be provided regular training, and high-performance tactical and technical support so that they can excel at the highest level.”
Professional Squad (8)
| Men | Girls |
| Gregory Foo | Koh Sock Hwee |
| Joshua Yap | Amanda Tan |
| Wong Qiwen | |
| Abdul Hadi | |
| Nicklaus Chiam | |
| James Leow |
National Squad (8)
| Men | Girls |
| Hiroshi Tai | Inez Ng |
| Ryan Ang | Chen Xingtong |
| Brayden Lee | Hailey Loh |
| Troy Storm | Aloysa Atienza |
Junior National Squad (18 years and under) (8)
| Men | Girls |
| Irvyn Tan | Guo Jun Xi |
| *Samuel Tan | Aamiya Koul |
| Aaron Wee | Valencia Chang |
| Bruce Kwong | Passion Hsu |
Development Squad (10)
| Men | Girls |
| *Norman Hakim | Jaymie Ng |
| Ethan Lim | Shang Yu |
| *Keeshuan Tan | Shayne Lim |
| Sean Pang | Jillian Kuk |
| Chloe Ng | |
| Denise Ng |
Junior Development Squad (18)
| Boys | Girls |
| Kok Kian Foo | *Ashley Wee |
| Rico Ang | Kimiko Ang |
| *Reyes Halim | Amelie Ng |
| *Cayden Leong | Temperance Tan |
| *Cayden Tay | Seychelles Lim |
| *Kieran Tan | Anjanette Tan |
| Dylan Chua | *Chloe Yap |
| *Vinh Ahn Phan | *Elina Veejay |
| *Atlas Lin | *Victoria Yeong |
*denotes new squad members
Holding Squad (8)
* male squad members who are currently serving their National Service or studying in overseas colleges
| Boys |
| Sean Lee |
| Zachary Ong |
| Ng Wei Jun |
| Nathen Tan |
| Eng Wei Jin |
| Justin Kuk |
| Brandon Han |
| Daryl Low |
Ends.