Ly Hong runs away with golf open
Tuesday, 07 August 2012, H S Manjunath
Enjoying a three stroke lead after firing a first round two under par
70, left-handed Ly Hong closed out with a three-over par 75 to win the
Angkor Amateur Open by eight shots at Siem Reap’s Angkor Golf Resort on
Sunday.
As one of Cambodia’s leading amateurs, Ly Hong had left a
fine impression in the second round of the recently held Asian Tour
Honda-Faldo Classic at the same venue.
Though he missed the cut
then, he had earned a lot of admirers for his effort. The left-hander,
who turned out for Cambodia in the 2011 Sea Games in Indonesia, just put
that rich promise to great purpose in a field that hardly tested his
skills. Expat Nick Toon finished runner-up ahead of Nepal’s Tashi Ghale.
The presence of Asian Tour professional Chris Rodgers was an added attraction and he produced two fantastic rounds from the black tees of 68 and 73 in very windy conditions.
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| AAO 2012 winner Ly Hong (right) holds trophy with Chris Rodgers |
Ly Hong’s SEA Games team-mate Seng Van Seiha, who also had a run in the
Honda-Faldo Classic, duly won the Nett Division snatching the honours by
one shot from Malaysian expat Chris Ponniah.
Among a field of 30
golfers, Division B was a close affair with Tan Savun prevailing over
Sor Chanpholin by two strokes in a battle between two Cambodians.
Division
C carried a definite expat flair with Siem Reap resident Bevan Rakoia
beating by one-stroke his close pursuer from Phnom Penh Jake Montross.
Evangeline Apuhin of the Phillipines strung together a polished 140 to take the ladies event.
“We
are delighted with the success of the tournament while witnessing the
emergence of some very talented Cambodian golfers,” General Manager of
the Angkor Golf Resort Adam Robertson told the Post yesterday.
“Both Division A and B were dominated by Cambodians, which augurs well for the development of the game in the Kingdom,” he said.
In
a little over month’s time, AGR will host the first Faldo Series event,
marking the introduction of six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo’s
global golf development program.
