Tiger Woods wins The Players 2013

May 13, 2013

BREAKING NEWS

Tiger Woods wins The Players in a dramatic fashion

Watch Garcia’s at the 17th Hole: http://telly.com/MAVKF6

Tiger Woods faltered, recovered and then finished strong to cap a dramatic victory at The Players Championship.

Woods appeared to be cruising toward his second career win at The Players when he arrived at the 14th hole at TPC Sawgrass on Sunday. Then everything went sideways — and got wet. Alone atop the leaderboard as he stepped to the tee at 14, Woods hooked the ball left and into the water. By the time he completed his double bogey on the par-4 14th hole, Woods had squandered his two-stroke lead and was mired in a four-way tie at 12-under with Sergio Garcia, David Lingmerth and Jeff Maggert.

“It was tough. I was in control of the tournament and got to 14 tee and just hit the worst shot I could possibly hit. And then, you know, made double bogey there but just stayed really patient,” Woods told Steve Sands of Golf Channel after the win. “I kept telling myself, ‘That’s the only bad swing I’ve made all day and there’s no reason why I can’t still win this golf tournament.’”

He did.

Woods regained the lead with a birdie on 16 and then benefited from a meltdown by Garcia en route to his fourth PGA Tour win of the 2013 campaign and 78th career PGA Tour win. Woods finished his four rounds at 13-under par. His victory was sealed when Lingmerth failed to birdie the 18th hole, which would have forced a playoff.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/12/tiger-woods-players-championship-sergio-garcia_n_3263694.html

Australia’s Adam Scott wins the 2013 Masters

April 15, 2013

Australia’s Adam Scott: Winner of the 2013 Masters at Augusta

Sunday April 14, 2013

Great Scott!

Adam Scott has won the 77th Masters, defeating Angel Cabrera in a thrilling playoff that lasted two holes.

The 32-year-old nearly won the Masters in regulation with a sensational birdie on the 18th hole but Cabrera answered with a birdie of his own.

Even after the first playoff hole, Scott and Cabrera advanced to the 10th hole. With both players on the green after two shots, Cabrera’s 15-foot putt flirted with the cup but would not fall. He would tap in. Moments later, Scott sank the winning putt from about 12 feet.

Scott is the first Australian ever to win the Masters. He is truly a great champion, bouncing back from his loss to Ernie Else of South Africa in last year’s British Open Championship

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/14/adam-scott-wins-masters-playoff_n_3081847.html

Vote to end the Era of Mahathirism

April 9, 2013

GE-13: End the Era of Mahathirism?

by Dr Neil Khor@http://www.malaysiakini.com

COMMENT: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died yesterday. Within minutes, Facebook and Twitter were buzzing. Almost everyone old enough to remember her when she was PM said in unison that her death was “the end of an era”.

Those who know of her only from the recent Academy Award-winning film based upon her life have also huddled irrationally together “to express their sympathy” for someone they have never met or even heard of until very recently.

This phenomenon of missing someone whom we do not know personally is a by-product of the influence of the mass media on our lives. Social networking has made this effect more pervasive, creating group identities.

This new situation means that leaders have to be celebrities to win elections.That was why Najib Abdul Razak asked Malaysians whether we trusted him or Anwar. He was addressing young voters, who will decide if BN claws back its two-thirds majority.

The politician as celebrity started with Thatcher, one of the world’s most ‘constructed’ leaders. Her global image was as coiffured as her hair. Nothing was left to chance and there was no time to spare in her sprint to transform herself into a celebrity prime minister. The first woman British PM, she led the way with Barack Obama as her media savvy heir.

Thatcher did not have many admirers but she had many imitators. Imitation, as the British know so well, is the best form of flattery. In Malaysia, she wrote in her autobiography, “there was a man who said ‘buy British Last’, I let him host CHOGM and he never turned back”. No other Third World Leader learnt his lesson better than Malaysia’s Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Today, Mahathir is seen as the BN’s last great hope. He is campaigning for BN because he feels indebted to BN for all the years it has supported him.

Unlike so many other ingrates, Mahathir knows how to repay his debts. There is little doubt in the minds of most Malaysians that he continues to pull the levers in the BN. He can decide when a BN prime minister should step down and whom to elevate.

Mahathir modeled himself on the world leaders of his generation. This did not include nationalist leaders of the Third World but the ‘strong’ leaders of the West. Thatcher was one of them.

There is very little in the public domain about their relationship except for a little-known book about the Pergau Dam project. In it, the man who promoted ‘Buy British Last’, was actively courting British arms manufacturers.

‘All the world’s a stage and we merely players’, especially so when Mahathir launched the very public anti-British campaign while in private, British commercial interests proliferated.

Malaysia and Singapore remain the West’s strongest allies in Southeast Asia. Mahathir’s adroit handling of his public persona as the ‘voice of the Third World’ and his masterful facilitation of Western interests have ensured ‘peace’ for Malaysia.

Thatcher may have dismantled industrial Britain but Mahathir used FDI from the West to industrialise Malaysia. The reality is that Malaysia has remained ‘safe’ and secular under BN and especially during Mahathir’s long administration.

He successfully kept the Islamists at bay. This is the “devil you know”, so do you really want to take risks?

Mahathir’s immense influence

As we await the countdown to GE13, many of the older generation will be looking back nostalgically to the time when we had a strong leader.There was nothing silly that came out from the mouth of the PM like “the era of government knows best is over”. There were no direct handouts, no need to massage the inflation figures and no ambiguity about the national vision.

There were no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ when implementing policy. If the press was pesky, we simply closed down the papers. If the royals went too far, we removed their immunity from prosecution. When the judiciary began to veer off course, we removed the Lord President.

And the PM led the BN to five electoral victory never losing its two-thirds majority because so many Malaysians voted for them. The PM was never more popular than the party.

Whilst both Thatcher and Mahathir rose above all their contemporaries to emerge as ‘strong’ leaders by mastering the media and cultivating an image as ‘conviction politicians’, enter the Internet and the rise of social media.

In the case of Mahathir, the social media was the tool he used to get his message across. He unseated his hand-picked successor by systematically demolishing Abdullah Ahmad Badawi , who will be forever remembered as the “sleeping PM”.

Today, Mahathir is once again using his immense influence over the electorate to make sure the BN wins big in the coming GE. He said very clearly that the BN formula is the only one that works because Malaysians will never be mature enough to see beyond their own race and religion.

He celebrates Ibrahim Ali and PERKASA as custodians of the special Malaysian formula of ‘Malay leadership’ of a diverse multi-ethnic nation. He has made it clear that Selangor needs to be saved from another term of Pakatan Rakyat rule.

Some call this fear-mongering but it is a great pincer strategy. Whilst Najib is free to portray himself as cosmopolitan and a strong proponent of 1Malaysia, Mahathir appeals to the baser instincts of Malaysians at the lower end of the economic ladder.

Preying on their insecurities and the basic instinct to survive, he is indeed paying BN back for all the years the coalition has been of service to him. It was, after all the MCA and Gerakan, that saved him when UMNO was declared illegal in 1988 and when the Malays abandoned UMNO in 1999.

By supporting Perkasa and Ibrahim (left in photo), Mahathir has set the stage for the ultimate triumph of his worldview and his formula for Malaysia. Tunku Abdul Rahman recognised this cynical view and rejected Mahathir, dying outside of UMNO and the coalition he fled.

The same with Hussein Onn, who preferred to join Semangat 46 that was led by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. When Najib fails to obtain the two-thirds majority that he so confidently thinks he can get, Mahathir will be there to tell us that Malaysians have rejected 1Malaysia.

So, to those who want to see Thatcher’s death as the end of an era – that is, the end of the era of divisive politics, of cynicism and of egomaniacal leaders – please think again.

It was the political philosopher Edmund Burke who said “those who have been intoxicated with power can never willingly abandon it”. So it is with Mahathir and his quest to ‘save’ Malaysia, the Malaysia created in his own image.

It is now up to us to go to the polls and decide for ourselves whether it is truly the end of the Mahathir era!

Learning from Golf and Family

April 2, 2013

Learning from Golf and Family: Honesty is Non-Negotiable

“Golf is such that honesty is non-negotiable. You score yourself. You are frequently the only person who will know if the ball moved before you hit it or not. If integrity is not part of your make-up, the game will degenerate into chaos before long.”–G. Migliaccio

I was talking to a friend the other day and the chat — as it invariably does — came round to golf. It got me thinking about what we can take from golf that can be translated to business. Of course, after that, and thanks to this same friend, I thought about how these lessons resonate with family.

You know how we so often hear about poor so and so, the “golf widow”! Really! There is more to golf than the obsession that takes the husband away the whole day — and then some; at the 19th hole. Here’s why I should be allowed to play it: as much and for as long as I want to.

Technical Competence

Arnold D.Palmer–The King of Modern Golf

To be a golfer of sorts, you need certain competencies and skills. At a basic level, you need to know how to swing the club, whether it is a driver, a fairway wood or an iron. Then, you need to learn how to hit a draw or a fade.

While we can try to teach ourselves, the reality is that all of us need to see a coach. It’s the same with business; you need certain competencies — management and leadership, strategy, finance, marketing, HR skills.

Family is no different, although the challenge is more demanding. There is no readily available school that teaches you how to be a good parent or spouse. Still, there are key skills we all need to have good relationships: empathy, caring, patience, active listening, compassion, sharing, discipline, and more. 

Most of these we get from our early role models — parents, peers, teachers — and others we learn along the way. But it’s fair to say that without these technical skills we wouldn’t be very successful in relationships. As with golf, you need to develop and update these skills continuously.

Psychological Competence

It’s said in golf that whether someone will have a good round or not is determined well before they step on to the first tee; it’s played out in the player’s mind. We need to understand the psyche of the game of golf; we need to manage ourselves over 18 holes.

We need to deal with the good, by avoiding arrogance or becoming blasé. The moment you think you’re on top, you will start making silly mistakes.

We also need to deal with the bad; to put the bad hole behind us and concentrate on the holes ahead. Learn from the bad hole and apply the lessons to the holes ahead.

Family is one of the most wonderful institutions we have, but if we have a negative mind set it can be dysfunctional and destructive. Henry Ford put it this way: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right!” It is as applicable in golf as it is in family life.

Deal with the environment

In golf this entails the wind and rain, as well as the lay and course of the fairways; the shapes, and lay and speed of the greens. They change all the time. They call for how you shape the ball, and which of your 14 clubs you need to do it with. 

This is equally true for families. Events and changes in the day-to-day environment have knock-on impacts. Changes in employment or redundancies could affect the children’s schooling, split relationships, put pressure on finances.

You need to be vigilant, to develop strategies as circumstances demand, and to be tactical in your implementation to counter the unexpected.

Be values-driven

Here we refer to values such as integrity and character. Golf is such that honesty is non-negotiable. You score yourself. You are frequently the only person who will know if the ball moved before you hit it or not. If integrity is not part of your make-up, the game will degenerate into chaos before long.

Already I see signs of people playing to win above all else. The tragedy is that the prizes of golf at the amateur level are such that it does not explain this liberal interpretation of the rules.

Not that the nature of the prize should play a role! The saying goes: “To lie to others is immoral — to lie to yourself is pathetic!”

Integrity and trust are the foundations of any strong family unit. It’s too easy to give in to temptation, especially now with the Internet such a pervasive element in our lives. But as a family, we make a commitment to stand by and support each other, and that means being honest and feeling safe enough to share our issues and problems.

Respect and Humility

These are important in golf. You need to show up on time, dressed appropriately. When the other player is playing, you stay still, out of the person’s line of sight. You do not chat while your playing partner is addressing the ball. You do not keep the players behind you waiting.

You repair your pitch marks and your divot holes. You show respect — to your team and to the field as a whole.

In the family, you pay respect to your parents, children, and extended family. You show respect to the community you live in. Like respect, humility is a key trait in success. No arrogant person will have any long-term sustainable relationships.

So there you have it; golf and the family. Where we are short in any aspect, remember the 1 Per Cent way to bite-sized action?

Where else can we draw lessons from, and what do you think? Drop me a line, or post a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

* Giorgio is a proud family man, devoted dad, golf hack, extroverted introvert and all-round nice chap. As director of Coaching Services Australia, Giorgio helps people create careers they love, facilitates team communication as well as help small businesses make money. Follow him at @CoachGiorgio or contact him at info@coachingservices.com.au.

Tiger Woods wins Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational 2013

March 26, 2013

http://www.cnn.com

March 25, 2013 — Updated 2254 GMT (0654 HKT)

Nearly two-and-a-half years after losing the title, Tiger Woods reclaimed the world No. 1 golf ranking when winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament on Monday.The defending champion knew that only victory at Bay Hill would enable him to topple Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.

With thunder storms having pushed the final round of play in Florida into Monday, the 37-year-old defended the three-shot lead he held at the start of the day to finish 13 under par — two ahead of second-placed Justin Rose.

“It has been a by-product of hard work, patience and getting back to winning golf tournaments,” Woods said of regaining the coveted top spot.

As he tapped into the eighteenth, Woods became only the second golfer in history to win eight PGA titles at the same event — joining the legendary Sam Snead, who achieved his tally at the Greater Greensboro Open (now called the Wyndham Championship).

“I play well here — and that’s as simple as it gets,” Woods replied when asked the secret of his success at Bay Hill.

While Snead needed 27 years to mark up those victories, Woods took just 13 — nearly half the time — to achieve the feat, having also managed to win three other tournaments on seven different occasions.

The American’s form suggests he will be the man to beat at next month’s Masters at Augusta, the first major of the year — with many pundits awaiting his first major since 2008 to consider his comeback complete.

“That’s up to them — that’s their opinion,” said a relaxed Woods after his success. “I am very pleased with the way I am playing — and that’s enough for me.”

The title, on one of his favorite courses, formally caps his return to the summit of golf — which he spectacularly fell off when reports of numerous marital infidelities emerged in late 2009, whereupon he took an indefinite break from the sport.

The following August, his divorce from his Swedish wife of six years, former model Elin Nordegren, who is the mother of his two children, was finalized.

In October 2010, six months after returning to golf with such poor form that he failed to win a single event in a season for the first time since turning professional, Woods lost his world best crown to Englishman Lee Westwood — ending a record run of 281 consecutive weeks at the top (which started in June 2005).

A combination of further poor form, added to injury, meant that a man who had once seemed invincible on the golf course dropped to a barely credible 58th place in November 2011.

But 29 months after losing his crown, Woods is back on top for the eleventh time in his career — capping a fine month for both his game and private life, with the golfer having announced his relationship to skier Lindsey Vonn last week.

He will now start to add to the record 623 weeks he has spent on top of the golfing world, a tally which is nearly double that of his nearest rival, with Australian Greg Norman racking up 331 weeks, while no other player has broken the 100-week barrier.

The 2013 season may be in its infancy but the 14-time major winner has started in irrepressible form, winning three of his five tournaments — after triumphing at Doral earlier this month and at Torrey Pines in January.

His 77th PGA Tour victory also marked his 99th professional tournament win as Woods, who has won the Masters on four occasions, prepares his bid to wear the famous green jacket for the first time since 2005.

Thailand Kiradech Aphibarnrat wins 2013 Maybank Malaysian Open Golf Championship

March 24, 2013

Breaking News: Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat wins 2013 Maybank Malaysian Open Golf Championship

by AFP/Din Merican

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat (above) shot a two-under-par 70 on Sunday beating Italy’s Eduardo Molinari by a stroke to win a Malaysian Open shortened to 54 holes after constant rain interruptions today.

When I congratulated him for his lead on Saturday evening, Kiradech told me that he was going to try a win this championship in honour of His Majesty King of Thailand. That was what he did a few hours ago. He became a proud Maybank Malaysian Open Golf Champion, the second Thai Golf Professional after his illustrious colleague Thongchai Jaidee, a winner in 2004 and 2005.

Aphibarnrat shot five birdies against four bogeys at the Kuala Lumpur Golf Club for a three-round total of 203. Molinari had a 67, one stroke ahead of Denmark’s Anders Hansen, who shot a 66 for a 205 total. U.S. Masters winner Charl Schwartzel (71) from South Africa and Victor Dubuisson (70) of France shared fourth place, four strokes off the lead.  Former World No.1 and the tournament’s  top seeded golfer Luke Donald of the UK failed to make the cut.

Amateur Gavin Kyle Green (left), a 19 year old Malaysian student at The University of New Mexico, scored 6-under par. He won 2 awards for being the best amateur and top Malaysian golfer of the championship. Gavin played brilliantly and showed a lot of promise.

After thunderstorms shortened play on each of the first three days, organizers announced Saturday the tournament would be decided over three rounds. Play was suspended again Sunday for more than two hours due to  thunder and lightning.

The main sponsor of the tournament, Maybank, deserves special mention for being an excellent host. Its Chairman, Tan Sri Megat Zaharuddin Megat Mohd Nor (right), did an excellent job. He was seen everywhere in the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club to ensure all arrangements went well.

To Tan Sri Megat, Maybank and co-sponsors, President Tan Sri Anuar and his team at Malaysian Golfers Association, Global One, The Asia Tour and The European Tour,  I say thank you for your efforts in promoting golf in Malaysia. Sime Darby and the management, staff and members of KLGCC too deserve our sincere appreciation for their cooperation and support.

______________________________

Final round scores on Sunday in the $2.75 million Maybank Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

203 – Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 65-68-70

204 – Edoardo Molinari (ESP) 66-71-67

205 – Anders Hansen (DEN) 66-73-66

206 – Victor Dubuisson (FFR) 67-69-70, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 67-68-71

207 – Pablo Larrazabal (ESP) 69-70-68, Mark Foster (ENG) 69-69-69, Alexander Noren (SWE) 69-68-70, David Howell (ENG) 69-68-70, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 69-68-70

208 – Thomas Aiken (RSA) 71-71-66, Joonas Granberg (FIN) 71-68-69, Peter Lawrie (IRL) 68-69-71, Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 66-69-73, Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 70-66-72, Wu Ashun (CHN) 67-68-73

209- Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 71-70-68, Mikko Ilonen (FIN) 70-70-69, Matteo Manassero (ESP) 69-71-69, Lee Slattery (ENG) 68-70-71, Scott Jamieson (SCO) 66-72-71

afp

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130324/golf-maybank-malaysian-open-final-round-scores

Maybank Malaysian Open 2013: Schwartzel, Ashun lead but Kiradech continues surge

March 24, 2013

Maybank Malaysian Open Golf Championship 2013

I am off to watch the final round of the Maybank Malaysian Open. This year’s championship will be decided in 54 holes. Due to bad weather yesterday, Round 3 was suspended and will resume at 9.45 am today at the Kuala Lumpur Golf Country Club. Once again I congratulate Maybank Group and other sponsors, Globe One (the championship organisers), the Asian Tour and the European Tour for staging this outstanding tournament.

I shall be at the KLGCC  and will resume blogging later this evening. In the meantime, here the NST report on Round 2. –Din Merican

http://www.nst.com.my

March 23, 2013

WELL ARMED: Schwartzel, Ashun lead but Kiradech continues surge

SOUTH AFRICAN Charl Schwartzel and China’s Wu Ashun claimed the clubhouse lead on nine-under 135 in a chaotic rain-interrupted Maybank Malaysian Open at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club yesterday.

Play was again suspended for almost three hours in the afternoon when a thunderstorm lashed KLGCC but when it resumed, overnight clubhouse leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat (pic above) of Thailand showed tremendous grit to go 10-under but his charge was stopped on the front nine. He added three more birdies on the third, fourth and ninth, before failing light stopped play.

The Thai sensation will continue nine more second round holes today, before playing in the third round in the afternoon.Schwartzel and Wu Ashun had identical 67-68s for a two-round total of 135.

The South African was four-under par after 11 holes of his first round on Thursday when a thunderstorm forced play to be abandoned. He was among 78 players who resumed play yesterday morning and completed an opening 67 in style, chipping in for a birdie on the 18th.

That left the 2011 Masters Tournament champion two shots off the clubhouse lead held by Kiradech, but it was just a matter of a few holes before he closed in on the lead.

Starting his second round from the tenth, Schwartzel birdied his first two and picked up two more shots on the 17th and 18th to be out in 32, and more birdies followed on the third and fifth but his game was marred when he dropped two shots in a row, on the sixth and seventh, and had to settle for a 68.

“I can’t be too hard on myself because it’s extraordinarily hot out there,” said Schwartzel.

“I lost a bit of concentration towards the end and made bad decisions on the sixth and seventh — poor club selections. I was in the middle of the fairway both times and made bogey. I hit a very poor shot on the seventh.It’s been a very long day but through it all, I thought I played pretty well. At least I’ve given myself a chance; I’m playing consistently and if I had been a bit sharper today (yesterday), I maybe could have separated myself from the field, but I know I’m playing well and I’m feeling good.”

Wu drew level with Schwartzel when he rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt at the ninth.”I’m very happy and my putting is good. I read the lines very well and that made me relax out there.I think it’s important to play with a strategy in mind this week and selection of the right clubs will matter as well.

“I’ve been in a good form and I hope to maintain that.It’s great that I have the opportunity to play in this co-sanctioned event this week. It’s going to be very competitive because we’ve got all the top players from the Asian Tour and European Tour in the field.”

WGC-Cadillac Golf Championship 2013: Tiger Woods Wins

March 11, 2013

by  Shane Bacon | Devil Ball Golf

The interesting thing about Sunday (March 10) at Doral was it seemed everyone, including Tiger Woods‘ playing partner, was convinced the tournament was already over before it started. That’s the impact that Tiger has on golf when he’s really, really honed in.

Woods won his second PGA Tour event of 2013 on Sunday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship with what appeared to be a victory lap instead of a final round thanks to a hot start and not much push from the players that were biting at his heels. Woods shot a final round 71 that included two bogeys over his last three holes, but the lead had increased so much those holes didn’t matter.

Back when Tiger Woods was Tiger Woods we expected final rounds to look like this. Woods would go in with a big lead and you knew what was bound to happen. He would make some early birdies, hit a lot of irons off tees and make sure to find the fat part of every green because he was in such command of his golf ball that he was able to do that.

Why Tiger Woods is still TOPS

Tiger Woods at 17th Hole in Round Three

The last few wins haven’t been quite so comfortable. Sure, he rolled at Torrey Pines but he didn’t have a lot of pressure from the best in the world. That wasn’t the case on Sunday at Doral. Names like Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker and Graeme McDowell were behind him and a host of other of golf’s upper echelon were just a few back of those names but it didn’t matter. Tiger went out with a mission, and for the first time since 2008 he has the golf swing to accomplish that mission.

His win seems more emphatic than the other four have in the last year. This win was a message to everyone that he isn’t just a big name that can win on any track, but he’s the best out there and his golf swing, and putting stroke, are showing that.

It’s fun to watch a guy find himself in the game of golf like this again. We’ve seen it happen to guys like Stricker, who basically forgot how to hit a golf ball for years before reinventing themselves on the PGA Tour, but it doesn’t happen to the top name in the sport. Woods didn’t know where the ball was going two years ago and now it seems he’s as in control of it as he’s been since the word “Tiger Slam.”

Now all of our attention will move to Augusta National. Tiger has showed us that he can dominate big golf events, but he still hasn’t been that comfortable on weekends at the majors. From what we’ve seen so far this season on tour, Woods is as ready as ever to get his 15th major and restart his run at Jack Nicklaus.

If this putting stroke shows up in Georgia, I see it happening. By a lot.

Singapore: Niche Diplomacy through water expertise

January 31, 2013

by Mely Caballero-Anthony and P. K. Hangzo, RSIS

Through strategic planning and investment in research and technology, strong political will, and effective governance, Singapore has emerged from water insecurity to become a global hydrohub.

It has built a robust and diversified range of water sources and has successfully addressed its water challenges in the process. As a result it has earned international recognition as a model city for water management. This has also led to a new direction in its water diplomacy, which is no longer centred on securing Singapore’s water supply from Malaysia.

Singapore has in recent years capitalised on its domain expertise in water management. In the process, its water diplomacy has taken on the character of ‘niche diplomacy’. The term was coined to describe how middle powers, through their ideas and positive international impression, can influence international issues regardless of their size and lack of military power. Singapore, in this context, has been able to turn its niche expertise in the management of an increasingly important resource — water — into an approach to diplomacy that has allowed it to enhance its regional and international standing and influence.

It has done this through sharing water expertise as well as humanitarian activities. Singapore’s growing expertise in water management has also enabled the country to set the agenda on a number of global water issues, including water standards, which remain a challenge worldwide.

In March 2012, the Technology and Water Quality Office of Singapore’s national water agency, the Public Utility Board (PUB), was designated World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for safe drinking water management and integrated urban water management. Under this arrangement, Singapore serves as the WHO’s regional policy research hub on relevant concerns, such as regulatory issues, water industry structure and water pricing. It will also conduct capacity-building activities and training courses for WHO member states, particularly those in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region.

Urban water security has become an important policy agenda in most countries. Cities in developing countries are under pressure to meet the burgeoning demand for water brought about by rapid economic and population growth. With the number of people living in urban areas projected to increase from 3.6 billion in 2011 to 6.3 billion by 2050, the situation is set to become more critical. However, it presents significant opportunities for Singapore to contribute to tackling global water security challenges.

There are already several Singaporean projects along these lines. For example, the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) signed an agreement in 2011 with the government of Mauritius to assist it to develop a system capable of providing an uninterrupted supply of potable water, to reduce non-revenue water to a minimum, to improve the country’s Total Water Management system and to develop a plan to meet increasing and changing needs.

In June 2012 the SCE also signed an agreement with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in India to set up waste-water treatment plants to generate water for consumption. The program is co-funded by DJB and the Temasek Foundation, and will establish a water reclamation plant with 40 million gallons per day capacity. It is projected that this plant will benefit 3–4 million consumers.

The SCE and Temasek Foundation established a similar arrangement with the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) of the city of Bangalore in southern India. BWSSB officials would be trained to manage, operate and maintain recycle-and-reuse plants and would also help them develop strategies to raise public awareness and acceptance of recycled waste-water.

Singapore is increasingly integrating its water expertise into its response strategy for humanitarian emergencies in Southeast Asia. In the wake of the devastating floods in Thailand in 2011, which caused more than 800 deaths, PUB delivered water quality monitoring equipment to Thailand’s Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA). PUB, together with industry partners, also provided training to MWA staff on risk assessment and water safety plan formulation, as well as laboratory services for the testing of water samples.

Other initiatives have involved tackling more chronic needs. Through the Water for Life project launched by the Singapore International Foundation in 2010, Singapore helped rural communities in Siem Reap, Cambodia, to gain access to clean water, providing some 2000 bio-sand filters to help reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases. This was followed by a similar project in Kampong Speu.

Singapore has made determined efforts to extend its water expertise beyond its shores. Its niche expertise in water has strengthened its ties with other states and increased its influence at the regional and international level.

Mely Caballero-Anthony is Associate Professor and Head of the Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

P. K. Hangzo is Associate Research Fellow at the Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

A version of this article was first published here in NTS Insight, and appeared here as RSIS Commentary No. 221/2012.

http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/01/31/singapore-niche-diplomacy-through-water-expertise/

Our Malaysia of the 70′s

January 26, 2013

by Dr Azly Rahman @www.malaysiakini.com(01-25-13)

With the state of racial and religious things entire in our beloved Malaysia today – rumours of a festival of Bible-burning, continuing humiliation of the Malaysian Indians especially, the death of critical sensibility in our public universities, the devastating revelations of the ‘Sabah IC-gate’ plot, the issue of ‘stateless Indians’ and the criminalisation of children not able to be schooled because they were born ‘stateless’ and a host of other issues Malaysianly unbecoming.

I have decided to travel down the path of nostalgia. I am quite sure many of you reading this column would agree that the late sixties and early seventies presented a good frame of reference of what it means to be Malaysian and what ‘national identity’ could be about. Names upon names came back to me as I conjure fond memories.

There was a certain kind of magic, innocence, and sincerity to foster a Malaysian identity, back then. It didn’t matter what race you were, one could love to one’s heart’s content folks like these: P Ramlee, AR Tompel, Aziz Sattar, Saloma, Siput Sarawak, Ayappan, Lim Goh Poh, Andre Goh, Kartina Dahari, Orchid Abdullah, soccer players like V Arumugam the ‘Spider Man’, Soh Chin Aun ‘The Towkay’(right), Shaharuddin Abdullah the cool guy, Mokhtar Dahari ‘Super Mokh’, Santokh Singh, and many other great names that helped make Malaysian Malaysia proud.

One could laugh at the comedian-ventriloquist Jamali Shadat’s jokes, remember names such a V Sambanthan, Khir Johari, the great statesman Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman, Tan Siew Sin, Temenggung Jugah (the man with a really cool haircut I so wanted one… ), Aishah Ghani, and of course the reluctant but down-to-earth and benevolent multiculturalist-statesman Tunku Abdul Rahman  with his famous uncontrollable blurting of Malay curse words and his philosophy of “oil and water can never mix”. A simple, yet profound life was back then…

Those were the days before today… when hell is breaking loose. What happened to the ethos of that genre, I wonder. Growing up in the early 70s, different words to describe reality, practices, and possibilities were dancing happily around me. Perhaps those street names tune us to calmness… Jalan/Lorong Aman, Sentosa, Bahagia, Rahmat, Syukur, Ne’mat, and Merdeka…

All these shaped the child’s mind, such as that of mine growing up with a fascination of names, as if living is about being taught names and being able to “read the self and the word” in order to be liberated.

There were also words related to spirituality; words such as ‘sembah-Hyang’, marhaban, berzanji, kenduri, berkhatan, and bersugi gigi…  There were also cool words related to Malay magic such as jampi serapah, tangkal, kemenyan, dukun, pawang, and of course the “mambang laut-mambang darat-mambang udara” trinity/trio”…

Smooth-sailing seventies

Back in the day of the smooth-sailing seventies people were happy wearing what ought to be simple fashion and accessories… kebaya, baju kurong (not a straitjacket mind you), baju Melayu Telok Blangah, terompah, selipar chapal, selipar Jepun… manik koran, and all kinds of Malay, Chinese, and Indian ‘bling bling’ to adorn oneself with cultural niceties

Growing up in the kampong, I was not attuned to hearing totally foreign words, imported from elsewhere to denote and connote the self, spirituality, and salvation, and “saving the soul of others”; words such as solat, dakwah, ushrah, tarbiyyah jihad, muzakarah, jubah, serban, hijab, purdah, burqah, niqab, Arqam, tabligh, Ayatollah, muktamaar, buah tamar, or even Daulah Islamiyah…

Not that I knew or had even heard of… until the beginning of the eighties when these words like Karl Marx would became technologies of the “body, mind, and spirit” that changed the social relations of production and the ideological landscape of the country and the consciousness of a segment of Malay people… And  I never heard anyone wanting to burn the Bible nor shout “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) when scoring goals in a friendly kampong football match.

And the beauty of living back in the day was how the self was constructed out of the early introduction to pluralism/ multiculturalism such that in me, every time the Chinese spirit of Bruce Lee possesses me, I could just go out and beat up my best friend Fook Shiang for example. We could then walk to town and overdose on the Indian food tosei and capati. Along the way we would stop by breezy Lido beach to grab a bite of the Javanesse soul food tauhu (tofu) sumbat.

Next, we could stop by at our teacher’s house and listen to his stories of Malay spiritual powers and magic called ‘Ilmu Budi Suci’ where the energy within possibly called the ‘chi’ can be harnessed so that one could kick like Bruce Lee without even touching your enemy!

Then, back in the day, we could go home after that to watch Joe Bugner got punched out into outer space by the ‘Black Superman’ named Muhammad Ali. I could still remember the words of the announcer … “Annnddd in thissss corneerrr… weighing 220 pounds… from Louisville Kentucky… the undisputed world champion… Moooo hammaaaad… Aaaa Liiii… Aaaa Liiiii… Aaaa Liiii…” to the sounds of the audience gone berserk.

I could go on and one with this nostalgic; a trip down memory lane of the seventies especially, just by recalling words and words that were synonymous with a world that was about to enter globalisation but was dealing with a strange brew of modernisation and uneven development – a Malaysia before Mahathirism.

That was true multiculturalism without any strand of today’s idiocy. That was our Malaysia with a lot of sense and sensibility.

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DR AZLY RAHMAN, who was born in Singapore and grew up in Johor Baru, holds a Columbia University (New York) doctorate in International Education Development and Master’s degrees in the fields of Education, International Affairs, Peace Studies and Communication. He has taught more than 40 courses in six different departments and has written more than 300 analyses on Malaysia. His teaching experience spans Malaysia and the United States, over a wide range of subjects from elementary to graduate education. He currently resides in the United States.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia Wins Johor Golf Open 2012

December 16, 2012

by The Associated Press

Sergio Garcia won the rain-shortened Johor Open on Sunday, closing with an 11-under 61 for a three-stroke victory in the Asian Tour’s season-ending event.

The 32-year-old Spanish star finished at 18-under 198 at Horizon Hills for his second victory of the year and 24th international title. He also won the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship in August.

Garcia had the lowest final round by a winner in Asian Tour history. He birdied seven of the first nine holes to make the turn in 7-under 29, added birdies on 13 and 14 before a long rain delay, then returned to make it four in a row with birdies on 15 and 16.

American Jonathan Moore also shot a 61 to finish second. Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee was third at 14 under after a 65. Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant won the Asian Tour money title, finishing with $738,047 in 25 events . He shot a 65 to tie for fifth at 11 under.

John Daly finished with a 65 to tie for 15th at 8 under. South Africa’s Ernie Els closed with a 72 to tie for 48th at 3 under.

Rory McIlroy wins in Dubai

November 26, 2012

Rory McIlroy wins DP World Tour Championship in Dubai

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/golf/20485805

DP World Tour Championship final leaderboard:

• -23: R McIlroy (NI)
• -21: J Rose (Eng)
• -18: L Donald (Eng), C Schwartzel (SA)
• Selected others -14: J Donaldson (Wal), P Harrington (Ire), S Garcia (Spa)
• -13: S Jamieson (Sco)
• -12: S Gallacher (Sco)
• -11: R Rock (Eng)
• -10: I Poulter (Eng), D Willett (Eng), C Wood (Eng), M Warren (Sco), R Ramsay (Sco)
• -4: L Westwood (Eng), P Lawrie (Sco), D Drysdale (Sco)

World number one Rory McIlroy (left with Caroline) capped a sensational 2012 by birdieing the last five holes to win the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The Northern Irishman won his fifth title of the year after a 66 took him to 23 under, two clear of Justin Rose.

Rose holed eight birdies and an eagle in a course record 10-under-par 62.Fellow Englishman Luke Donald, who led overnight with McIlroy, shared third with Charl Schwartzel on 18 under after closing with a one-under 71.

“I couldn’t have wished for the season to end any better,” said 23-year-old McIlroy who won his second major at the US PGA Championship in 2012 and emulated Donald’s feat from last year of winning the European and American money lists.

“Coming here with the [European Tour's] Race to Dubai wrapped up, I wanted to win the tournament trophy too and that’s what I’ve done.It’s a great way to finish a great season.”

What had been expected to be a two-way shoot-out for the title between McIlroy and Donald was quickly turned into a three-way battle when Rose hit four birdies on the front nine to jump to 15 under.

McIlroy, who began on 17 under, bogeyed his opening hole, while Donald three-putted the third to record his first bogey of the tournament – and first in 103 holes on the Jumeirah Golf Estates course.

Rose meanwhile was holing a sixth birdie on the 13th before knocking in a five-foot eagle putt on the 14th to move one head of McIlroy on 19 under and two clear of Donald, both of who missed birdie chances on the 10th.

McIlroy levelled with a birdie on 11 but Rose inched ahead by matching that on the 15th and the world number seven unwittingly doubled his advantage by parring the 16th and 17th while McIlroy was bogeying the 13th.

Donald’s challenge had already faltered with a bogey on the 12th and although birdies on the 14th and 16th gave him hope of making a late surge, he found the greenside stream with his second to the par-five 18th.

Rose, needing a par on the the last hole to break the course record, went one better, expertly judging a tricky 100-foot putt down the slope from the back of the green to leave himself a six-inch tap-in birdie to set the clubhouse lead on 21 under.

On his putt, Rose said: “I was one roll away from looking like an idiot.As soon as the ball got to the top of the hill and started to roll down I started to get goosebumps because I thought it was going in.”

However, Rose’s lead was short-lived as McIlroy holed birdie putts from three and 20 feet on the 15th and 16th to draw level, before hitting a five iron to six feet on the par-three 17th to set up his fourth successive birdie.

He wrapped up the victory with a curling 10-foot putt on the last, and quickly set his sights on more success in 2013 when asked about his next target.

“To be focused on the majors, try to win more of those,” he said. “I’ve won one in ’11 and one in ’12. It would be nice to keep that run going next year, to keep improving as a player.I can feel like I can improve in different areas of the game still. “

Matteo Manassero wins Barclays Singapore Open 2012

November 11, 2012

http://www.europeantour.com

Matteo Manassero finished a marathon final day in style to win the Barclays Singapore Open after a play-off with Louis Oosthuizen at Sentosa Golf Club. The 19 year old Italian eagled the third play-off hole from 15 feet to deny Oosthuizen a third win of the season, and hand The Race to Dubai title to Rory McIlroy after the World Number One finished third.

With much of the third round incomplete at the start of the day after lengthy storm delays on Thursday and Friday, Manassero set about completing a seven under par 64 to lead by two going into the final round.

Manassero, who became The European Tour’s youngest winner two years ago and added a second title in neighbouring Malaysia last season, then birdied the par five 18th for a final round 69 to tie with Oosthuizen on 13 under after the former Open Champion had followed a 65 with a closing 67.

Two trips back down the 18th failed to split the pair – Oosthuizen bravely holing a seven foot birdie putt after Manassero chipped to two feet first time around, before the 30 year old missed from five feet after his opponent failed to get up-and-down from the edge of the green.

Both were on the putting surface in two at the third time of asking, but when Oosthuizen missed from 30 feet Manassero showed nerves of steel to become the first teenager to win three European Tour titles.

“It’s been an extremely long day,” said Manassero. “The adrenaline kept me going and the key was starting really well this morning. Starting with some birdies gave me a lot of adrenaline to go forward.

“The play-off was just a great honour to play with Louis – it’s been amazing really. This year has been a tough year for me going through a few swing changes, but it has been amazing this week. I’m glad this came in such a great tournament.”

Manassero had four birdies in a row from the fourth in his third round to hit the front early this morning, and when overnight leader Thomas Björn faded on the back nine Oosthuizen (right) emerged as his nearest challenger.

The Masters Tournament runner-up was two behind with a round to play before birdieing the first to get within one. He found trouble off the tee at fifth, however, and missed his par putt from 18 feet.

Manassero birdied the second before chipping from sand to within two feet at fourth for an obligatory gain, as Oosthuizen found water at the seventh only to almost hole his fourth from the fairway and save par.

Oosthuizen caught Manassero with a hattrick of birdies from the ninth, but looked to have thrown away his chances of winning with back-to-back bogeys at the 12th and 13th. He chipped in at the 14th, though, and a brilliant pitch to within two feet at the par five 18th saw him set the target at 13 under.

After bogeying the 15th Manassero needed a birdie, and although The European Tour’s youngest winner saw his putt slide by on the 17th, he made no mistake at the last after reaching the green in two.

McIlroy shot 69-65 on the final day, an eagle at the last confirming his status as European Number One and allowing the Northern Irishman to match Ryder Cup teammate Luke Donald’s 2011 achievement of topping the money list on both sides of the Atlantic.

Björn recovered from his third round 74 with a 68 to take fourth on nine under, with Italy’s Francesco Molinari and three-time winner of the event Adam Scott tied for fifth.

Tiger Woods’ Third Round Charge stalled on Back Nine of Mines Course

October 27, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Tiger Woods found lakes, bunkers and cart paths to stall his third round charge up the CIMB Classic leaderboard on Saturday, as Bo Van Pelt grabbed a share of the lead after flirting with golf’s magical 59.

Defending champion Van Pelt double-bogeyed the last to sign for a nine-under-par 62 and sit at the top of the leaderboard on 16-under 197 alongside overnight front-runner Robert Garrigus (69), with Woods (69) a further five shots back in joint 10th.

Heavy rain in Malaysia led to a second day of preferred lies at the soggy Mines Golf Course, leaving the course exposed to supreme scoring with only five of the 48 players in the field going over par in their third round.

Woods had raced to the turn in 30 after five birdies and four pars but his round unraveled on the back nine as he dropped five shots to offset two more birdies on another stifling day in Kuala Lumpur.

“I made a couple of bad decisions, bad swings on top of that, just all-in-all made too many mistakes and on a golf course that is playing this benign, you can’t afford to do that,” Woods told reporters.

“I’m going to have to shoot a low one tomorrow, something similar like Bo did today, but probably being this far back, I’m going to need some help, a great round tomorrow might not win that’s the only problem.”

Starting the day five behind Garrigus, Woods roared out of the blocks, holing a 12 foot birdie putt from the fringe on the short par-four first as he finally found some form with the short stick after two days of struggles.

Four further birdies came by the eighth as he raced to 14-under and held the lead on his own in the PGA and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event, which will become an official tournament on the American circuit next year.

However, the rest of the field were also taking advantage of the ideal conditions and Woods was joined at the top by four others at one stage, including Van Pelt, who had started the day seven back but turned in 29 to make up the gap.

Van Pelt added further birdies at 10, 11 and 12 to make it five in a row as he moved two ahead of Woods and set up the chance of joining the likes of David Duval, Chip Beck and Stuart Appleby in the 59-club.

While Van Pelt (left) charged, Woods was enduring a difficult start to the back nine as he lost his second shot to the par-five 11th way right, the ball bouncing off the cart path and finishing up with an awkward lie on a bank.

Standing on the path, Woods chipped down to 20 foot but missed his birdie effort and he also failed to get up-and-down from the edge of the green on the next hole, missing a slippery downhill four-footer for par to drop his first shot of the day.

After rolling in a straight 15 foot effort for birdie on the par-four 13th, Woods’ approach to the par-three 14th came up short and rolled down the bank into the lake, leading to a double bogey after a duffed chip.

Woods rattled in a 20 footer for birdie on 15 but he dropped another at the par-three 16th after failing to get up and down from the bunker and then three-putted 17 for bogey after missing a short putt.

Van Pelt had few such worries on 16 as he rolled in his 10th birdie putt of the day on the hole, before narrowly missing a lengthy eagle putt at 17, when his curling effort across the green at the par-five just brushed the edge of the hole.

Needing a birdie at the last for the magical but unofficial 59 due to the preferred lie rule, Van Pelt drove through the fairway to the left of the tee before plonking his approach to the par-four in the bunker right of the green.

A poor, escape and heavy chip shot left a six-foot bogey effort which lipped out to end his sparkling round in disappointing fashion.

“Obviously disappointing to finish with a double, but I look back on the 17-and-a-half holes I played well, and you know, hopefully that will carry over into tomorrow – not the last half,” Van Pelt told reporters.

(Editing by John O’Brien)

CIMB Bank Golf 2012: Garrigus take the lead but Tiger lurks

October 26, 2013

CIMB Bank Golf Classics 2012: Garrigus takes the lead but Tiger lurks

By John Pye — AP Sports Writer

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Robert Garrigus shot a 7-under-par 64 to take a two-stroke lead ahead of Jbe’ Kruger, who upstaged Tiger Woods in their second-round pairing at the CIMB Classic on Friday.

Garrigus at the 18th Tee, Mines Golf Resort, Kuala Lumpur

Garrigus was at 14-under 128 after two rounds. After starting the day in second spot at 7 under, the American golfer got as low as 15 under before leaving his par putt just short on the 18th hole for his only bogey of the round.

Kruger (left), playing his first competitive round with Woods, pumped his right arm after each of his eight birdies in a round that contained only one bogey amid the soggy conditions at the Mines Resort and Golf Club. He had a 64 and was 12 under, two shots clear of Australia’s Greg Chalmers (69) and overnight leader Troy Matteson, who followed his opening 63 with 69.

Woods carded a 67 and was tied for fifth at 9 under with Kevin Na (66) and Zimbabwe’s Brendon De Jonge (65).

While Woods is predicting a total of better than 20 under to win the $6.1 million tournament, Garrigus is setting his sights much higher.

“I’m going to try to get to 30 if I can, if that’s possible,” he said, adding that in his first tournament of the year he was 6 over after eight holes and played the next 54 holes at 32-under par. “So I can do it. I just need to do it on the weekend when it counts.

“No disrespect to anybody on the PGA Tour, they’re all great players, but I feel like I can beat anybody in the world.”

Kruger only slipped up once, at the 12th, and took no chances on the 18th when he decided to putt from off the green instead of using his pitching wedge to have a better shot at a par.

The South African had a double-bogey on 18 in the opening round after getting into contention at 7 under at the 17th.

“I think playing with (Woods) definitely made me concentrate a bit harder,” Kruger said. “That is one thing I’ve been lacking the last couple of months, so I think I want to play with him every day.”

It was hot and humid for the second consecutive day and, with the course still damp after a heavy tropical storm the previous evening, the PGA Tour allowed preferred lies so that players could lift, clean and place muddy balls in the closely mown areas through the green.

Garrigus didn’t encounter any serious problems with the course or conditions, with a run of four consecutive birdies from the seventh hole and another four from the 12th to the 17th holes. He has one win on the tour, in 2010, and had seven top-10 finishes this year in a breakthrough season.

Tiger Woods and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak at CIMB Golf Classics 2012

Woods narrowly missed with his putter for the second straight day, but this time he said it was because he wasn’t hitting his irons into the right spots, leaving him with tough downhill, across-the-green putts.

Despite being five shots off the lead, he’s confident he can make up the ground.”I feel good about it,” he said. “I’ve just got to go out there and make a bunch of birdies. The golf course can be had, especially if we have ball in hand like we did today.It’s wet. It’s a little bit muddy … (but) it can be had out there. I just have to get after it tomorrow, where at least I have a chance going into Sunday.”

Both bogeys in Woods’ round followed wayward tee shots. At the fourth he sliced right and landed near four parked vans and a row of public toilets, then hit his second shot into a muddy bank near the left front of the green. He had a tough lie where it sloped down to a lake, and asked for a rules official to examine it before chipping on in a spray of dirt.

At the 12th, he hit into a thick, grassy bank on the right of the fairway, got on to the green in three and stared blankly as his par putt shaved the outside of the cup.

In between was a classic chip from off the green at the seventh that made him smile for the first time in his round. “That was nice! It looked like I was going to go the other way,” he said. “I jerked a nine iron over to the left – you shouldn’t miss a green with a nine iron that bad – but I hit a really good shot and it trickled in like a putt, which was nice.”

Woods’ group is one shot ahead of three Americans at 7 under, including 2010 champion Ben Crane, 2011 runner-up Jeff Overton and Brian Harman.

South Africa’s Trevor Immelman had the low round of the day with a 63 to move into a share of 11th place with defending champion Bo Van Pelt. Nick Watney improved by six strokes in his second round by firing a 65 to move to 6 under, but Justin Dufner was 2 over in his second round, 12 strokes behind.

http://www.kentucky.com

Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2012: Inbee Park is the New Champion

October 14, 2012

Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2012 Final Round: Inbee Park is the New Champion

by Lim Teik Huat@http://www.thestar.com.my

Top Finishers at Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2012

1. 269 – Park Inbee (KOR) 69-68-65-67

2. 271 – Choi Na-Yeon (KOR) 65-67-68-71

3. 272 – Karrie Webb (AUS) 65-71-68-68

4. 273 – Catriona Matthew (SCO) 68-68-70-67

5.274 – Ryu So-Yeon (KOR) 68-73-67-66

6.275 – Lindsey Wright (AUS) 70-66-72-67, Paula Creamer (USA) 69-67-70-69

7.276 – Jessica Korda (USA) 68-71-73-64

8. 277 – Candie Kung (TPE) 70-71-71-65, Lizette Salas (USA) 68-67-76-66, Ariya Jutanugarn (THA-Amateur) 69-72-67-69, Mika Miyazato (JPN) 66-69-71-71, Ai Miyazato (JPN) 68-69-68-72

9. 278 – Yoo Sun-Young (KOR) 66-70-72-70, Azahara Munoz (ESP) 71-71-67-69

South Korean golfer Inbee Park (left) had a birdie binge in her first five opening holes on the back nine to thank for helping her win the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia title at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club on Sunday.

Inbee, the current LPGA Money List leader and winner of the U.S. Women’s Open in 2008, denied compatriot Na Yeon Choi from a successful defence of the title She finished with a four-under 67 to win by a two-stroke margin on 15-under (269)

It was 24-year-old Inbee’s second title of the season. She received a cheque for US$285,000 but more importantly, she kept the winning streak for South Korea in this championship. Jimin Kang was the winner of the inaugural title here in 2010.

Inbee became a major winner earlier this season when she won the Evian Masters for her third-career victory. Na-yeon, who won the title by one stroke last year, settled for the runner-up cheque for US$179,747 after she only managed a 71 on the final day to finish with a total of 13-under 271.

Hall of Famer Australian Karrie Webb finished third with a three-under 68 on a total of 12-under 272, her best finish of the season so far.

One stroke behind for fourth was Scottish Catriona Matthew (right), who had a 67 for 11-under 273. So-yeon Ryu of South Korea scored a five-under 66 to take fifth on 10-under 274.

It was all over for Na-yeon as she double bogeyed on the par-three 17th and any chance of her joining Yani Tseng of Taiwan as the second golfer to successfully defend a title this season.

There were anxious moments for Inbee, however, as she dropped one shot on the 17th and her tee-shot from the 18th flew straight into the bunker.

However, she managed to contain the damage to just one bogey and relief was written all over her face as she walked back to the clubhouse.

Inbee took over the lead after making birdies on 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th as Na-yeon struggled to keep to the fairways.

“I am very happy to win the second time, the first time I done this in my career.I was nervous coming to the 17th and 18th as I knew I was leading and it was tough from there.It’s a bogey-bogey finish but very happy still to win the tournament.I had to play good on the final day to win every time I won so far,” said Inbee.

On her strategy, Inbee said she had to put up a similar performance as in the third round where she shot a six-under 65 to move to second on the leaderboard.

“I need to go really low to win and playing aggressive helped me and got me the birdies. My golf has improved a lot, hitting, chipping and putting.

I am also happy there were no delays today,” added Inbee, who came here off back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the CN Canadian Women’s Open.

World number one Yani Tseng tied for 49th spot with a 71 for her total of five-over 289.World number two Stacy Lewis (left) of United States put up a three-under 68 for a share of 19th spot on four-under 280.

The LPGA Tour continues its Asian swing with the HanaBank Championship scheduled for this weekend in South Korea, followed by stops in Taiwan and Japan.

Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia 2012–Round 3 Results

October 13, 2012

Na Yeon Choi maintains her lead after Round 3

Round 3 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club East Course was interrupted due to rain but resumed around 2 pm this afternoon.The weather did not dampen the players and the Malaysian fans. In fact, it made the East Course very challenging.

The results for today show that the lead by defending champion Na Yeon Choi (-11) has narrowed down to 2 strokes after 3 rounds. Her Korean compatriot Inbee Park scored -11.

Australia’s Karrie  Webb (-9) is in third spot, while Japan’s Ai Miyazato and Norway’s Suzann Pettersen (both -8) take the 4th spot.

Paula Creamer of the United States, Scotland’s Catriona Matthew and Japan’s M. Miyazato  all at -7 put up a very credible preformance and are very much in contention.

Brittany Lang of the United States scored -6 while an amateur player from Thailand, Ariya Jutanugarn, Korea’s  So Yeon Ryu and Sun Young Yoo and Lindsey Wright from Australia are at -5. 

Leaders after 3 Rounds

1 Na Yeon Choi (-13)
2 Park Inbee (-11)
3 Karie Webb (-9)
4 Ai Miyazato (-8)
4 Suzann Pettersen (-8)

Round 4 promises to be an exciting finale. The weather is expected to be good. –Din Merican

AFP reports on Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia: Round 3

Kuala Lumpur, October 13, 2012

Defending Champion Choi Na-Yeon kept her lead Saturday at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, while fellow South Korean Park Inbee lit up the greens with a flawless 65 to move into contention.

Choi, who won the tournament last year and has led from the opening day, finished with a 68 for a total score of 13-under 200 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club in Malaysia’s capital.

More than four hours play was lost due to a thunderstorm. But Choi managed to maintain her lead despite being tired out by the rain.

“I don’t really like being in the lead as there is more pressure. I prefer to play catch up and make my move in the last round,” said Choi, who bagged her first Major when she triumphed at the US Women’s Open earlier this year.

“I was feeling the pressure a bit as it has been a long day, what with the four-hour delay and all. All day long it has been raining. It’s tiring,” she said.

Choi had a lone bogey on the 10th hole. She started the day brilliantly, sinking a putt on the first hole to set the pace. She then had three more birdies on the fifth, 12th and 16th holes.

But the day belonged to Inbee Park. With a three-day score of 11-under 202, the 24-year-old moved up from joint 12 to lie just two strokes behind Choi.

Park (right)  had a hot putter on the back nine, returning to continue her round after the rain delay to reel off six birdies on the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes.

“I think I play much better in the rain… I much prefer the rain to the heat,” said the jovial world number six.

“My putting on the front nine was very disappointing even though I had some chances for birdies. It picked up after the rain and I managed to sink a few of them.”

Australian veteran Karrie Webb is four strokes behind Choi and said her final birdie had given her a slight chance of catching her.

“The putt on the last gets me that little bit closer,” said the 38-year-old, who had five birdies and two bogeys to round off her day.I feel great going into the final round and it all depends how well Choi plays tomorrow.”

World Number One Yani Tseng of Taiwan had her first sub-par round of the tournament with a three-under 68, but is tied for 53rd with a three-day score of five-over 218.

The $1.9 million tournament, which features a star-studded cast of LPGA golfers, ends Sunday.-AFP