Singapore already plays host to a slate of top-tier golf events, from LIV Golf Singapore to the HSBC Women’s World Championship. It is also set to break new ground this October by staging the prestigious World Amateur Team Championships for the first time.
But when it comes to Singapore’s golf heritage, nothing stands taller than the Singapore Open.
First staged in 1961, the Singapore Open is one of the nation’s oldest and most storied golf tournaments, with 55 editions contested across eight venues since its inception.
Steeped in tradition, it emerged at a time when the Philippine Open stood alone as Southeast Asia’s premier event, before cementing its place in history as one of the founding tournaments of the Far East Circuit — the forerunner to the Asia Golf Circuit, which eventually was replaced by the Asian Tour.
The national championship was part of the inaugural Far East Circuit in 1962, a five-event series spanning the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Japan, which would later grow to a 10-tournament schedule at its peak.
In 1993, the Singapore Open joined the PGA Tour of Australasia, but shifted to the newly formed Asian Tour three years later, where it has remained ever since.
Over the years, the stroke-play tournament has also enjoyed strong global ties, co-sanctioned by the European Tour from 2009 to 2012. Following a three-year hiatus, it was co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour between 2016 and 2022.
The Singapore Island Country Club (SICC) has been the tournament’s most frequent home, hosting 28 editions, though the event has not returned there since 2000. That wait will finally come to an end this year, marking a long-anticipated return to the SICC.
Over the decades, the prestigious competition has also attracted a stellar cast of golfers. Among its champions is former world No. 1 Adam Scott, the event’s most decorated winner with three titles between 2005 and 2010.
Three-time major champion and 2015 FedEx Cup winner Jordan Spieth also featured in one of the tournament’s most dramatic moments – a weather-delayed Monday finish in 2016, where he fell just one stroke short of South Korea’s Song Young-han, who triumphed at 12-under 272.
Recent St. Jude Championship winner Justin Rose, who edged J.J. Spaun with a birdie on the third playoff hole at TPC Southwind, was also in contention at the 2020 Singapore Open, stringing together four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine.
But it was Rio Olympics bronze medallist Matt Kuchar who stole the spotlight. The American surged with three birdies over his final eight holes to seal a three-stroke victory over the Briton, who had taken Olympic gold and beat him by the same margin back in 2016.
More recently, three-time Asian Tour winner Sadom Kaewkanjana captured the 2022 Singapore Open crown with a flawless bogey-free 69 at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course, finishing at 13-under.
After a three-year hiatus, the national championship returns as a key fixture on Singapore’s golfing calendar. And fittingly, the Thai star will be back to defend his title in what promises to be a fierce and thrilling contest at the SICC.
