The hugely acclaimed Sentosa Golf Club, venue for the prestigious SMBC Singapore Open, has been named the World’s Best Golf Club at the World Golf Awards.
And the highly rated Serapong Course, which has tested the elite of world golf during the annual SMBC Singapore Open, picked up the title of Singapore’s best golf course at the same awards (worldgolfawards.com)
The 2020 SMBC Singapore Open, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organisation, will feature Major winners Justin Rose of England and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson along with Matt Kuchar of the United States.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond will be defending his title in the tournament from January 16-19, 2020.
This is how Assistant Sports Editor Jonathan Wong reported on Sentosa Golf Club’s latest accolade for the Straits Times:
Sentosa Golf Club (SGC) has scored a hole-in-one as it was named the World’s Best Golf Club at the annual World Golf Awards.
SGC’s general manager and director of agronomy Andrew Johnston, who was in Abu Dhabi earlier this week to receive the trophies – Sentosa’s Serapong was also named Singapore’s best golf course – told The Straits Times: “It still hasn’t sunk in. It’s not often you can call yourself No. 1.
“This is a great achievement for not just the club, but also Singapore. We’ve shown we are able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best in the world.”
The World’s Best Golf Club is a new category introduced at this year’s awards, which began in 2014. Factors like overall quality of the facility on a day-to-day basis, number of world-class tournaments hosted, commitment to environmental sustainability and junior golf are taken into account.
Votes were cast by professionals working within the golf industry and by the public (golf tourism consumers).
While there was no award for Best Golf Club in previous years, the iconic St Andrews Links in Scotland, commonly referred to as the home of golf, had won the previous five World’s Best Golf Course titles.
SGC has two courses, Serapong and New Tanjong, whose current land leases expire in 2030 and 2040 respectively.
Serapong, which hosts the (SMBC) Singapore Open men’s tournament, was ranked 58th in the biennial Golf Digest’s World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses in 2016. It was 79th on last year’s list.
The New Tanjong course underwent a $32 million facelift in 2016 and is the venue for the Women’s World Championships.
Singapore Tourism Board chairman Chaly Mah said: “From Formula One to the great golf tournaments Sentosa hosts, it’s events like these that help to put Singapore in the spotlight and enhance our tourism products.
“And to have Sentosa Golf Club recognised with such a prestigious accolade is further recognition for this great city.”
Mr Johnston said that the latest award is likely to boost interest in the club in the way the Golf Digest rankings and live television coverage of the courses during the Singapore Open and Women’s World Championships had previously done.
“Singapore’s top professional Quincy Quek, who is ranked 499th in the world and has played multiple events at the club, said: “From the golf reception to the bag handlers and starters, they always greet you with a smile and make you feel welcome at the club. I always enjoy my experience at Sentosa.”
