Round 4 - Impressive Sergio Garcia wins Singapore Open

January 21, 2018

Sergio Garcia played 27 holes on the last day without dropping a shot to win the Singapore Open by five strokes Sunday in an ominous display of his new found self-belief as he prepares to defend his Masters title.

Still brimming with confidence after claiming his first major title at Augusta National last year, Garcia started his new season with a runaway victory at the Sentosa Golf Club, finishing at 14-under 270.

Returning to the course just after dawn to complete his third round after play was suspended on Saturday because of lightning strikes, Garcia finished his last nine holes in 4-under for a round of 66 to take a one-shot lead into the final round.

With organizers desperate to avert the constant threat of more bad weather and finish the tournament on time, Garcia promptly returned to the first tee shortly after and fired a flawless 3-under 68, cruising to victory with 10 straight pars as his rivals floundered in the stifling humidity.

His closest rivals at the end were Japan's Satoshi Kodaira (71) and South African Shaun Norris (70). Both birdied the last hole to share second spot but neither was ever close enough on the last day to challenge Garcia.

Jazz Janewattananond (71) and his fellow Thai Danthai Bonnma (73) finished equal fourth at 8-under, earning themselves a spot in this year's British Open, while American rookie Sean Crocker also won a place at Carnoustie by finishing in a tie for sixth.

Garcia made just three bogeys in 72 holes and his victory provided the 38-year-old with the 33rd title of his professional career and his sixth on the Asian Tour.

He has also won three titles in the last 12 months, including the Masters, and his game looks to be in better shape now than it was a year ago .

He credits the Singapore Open as having played a part in toughening him up for Augusta National because of the steamy conditions and the testing stop-start nature of the tournament, which is regularly stopped because of inclement weather.

Although he finished tied for 11th in Singapore a year ago, Garcia won the Dubai Desert Classic the next week and was in peak form when he won the Masters two months later.

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Round 3 - Garcia and Ishikawa still in contention

January 20, 2018

US Masters champion Sergio Garcia had his game interrupted for the second day running at the Singapore Open as a lightning storm halted play at the Sentosa Golf Course on Saturday.

The world number 10 had teed off on round three just after 2:30pm but was halted by rain. Play resumed about an hour later but was again called off in the early evening due to the lightning risk.

Sixty two golfers, including Garcia, will resume round three when play restarts on Sunday morning.

The fickle Southeast Asian weather has frequently disrupted play at the Singapore Open in recent years, with organisers looking at a possible Monday finish should the frequent storms continue.

Garcia only managed to complete his second round on Saturday morning but had a frustrating time missing several birdie putts on the back nine.

At seven-under after nine holes in round three, the Spaniard is now in a joint third spot group alongside playing partner Ryo Ishikawa of Japan.

Ishikawa, 26, thrilled with four birdies in 10 holes for a second round 66, briefly joining Thailand's Chapchai Nirat in the lead but fell back after beginning round three.

Chapchai, who lost his Asia Tour card last season and only made it onto this week's field because of his earnings, has appeared to bounce back in spectacular form.

At nine-under after nine holes, he has managed to hold on to the clubhouse lead for the second day running, sharing it with compatriot Danthai Boonma.

"I won't be overthinking about the tournament, just going to enjoy the experience here," Chapchai said.

Top scores after round 3 of the SMBC Singapore Golf Open (par 71) before play was suspended:

211 - Shunya Takeyasu (JPN), Yoshinori Fujimoto (JPN)
213 - Jesse Yap (am, SIN)
214 - Thanyakon Khronhpha (THA), Arjun Atwal (IND)
217 - Lee Seung-Taek (KOR)

Round 2 - Ishikawa and Nirat tied for Singapore lead, Garcia 1-stroke back

January 19, 2018

Ryo Ishikawa moved into a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the Singapore Open on Saturday, raising hopes the former teen prodigy can finally win a tournament away from home.

Ishikawa completed his weather-interrupted second round with a 5-under 66 to join Chapchai Nirat in a two-way tie for the lead at 7-under 135 at Sentosa Golf Club.

Masters champion Sergio Garcia was in a five-man group, a further stroke back at 6-under, but on a heavily congested leaderboard where the top 29 players were within three shots of the lead.

Garcia, who held a share of the first-round lead, birdied the final hole to end a run of eight straight pars and shot a second-round 70.

''I felt like I hit the ball OK,'' Garcia said. ''My putting and all went great but my speed hasn't been great on this green so let's see if I can be a little more aggressive on the rounds this weekend.''

The Spaniard credits the Singapore Open as having played a part in toughening him up for his first major championship title at Augusta National because of the tough conditions and stifling humidity of southeast Asia.

Although he finished tied for 11th in Singapore, Garcia won the Dubai Desert Classic the next week and was in peak form when he won the Masters two months later. And he's already feeling confident of his chances of success this weekend, but hoping for better luck with the weather.

''Let's see if we can finish the round, that will be nice,'' he said. ''But I think if I can play 4-under I should have a chance.''

Ishikawa's round was less routine than Garcia's after he returned to the course just after dawn to resume where he left off the night before. He racked up eight birdies but also double bogeyed the tricky third hole for the second time in succession and dropped a shot at the sixth.

''It was a short night but I had a good sleep and just putted well,'' Ishikawa said. ''(The) greens are a little quicker than yesterday but I still figured (out) that speed.''

A teenage star, Ishikawa was thrust into the spotlight more than a decade ago. In 2007, he became the youngest player to win on any of the major tours in the world. He was a 15-year-old amateur when he won the Munsingwear Open KSB Cup.

The ''Bashful Prince'' received rock-star treatment in Japan and had the largest entourage of photographers. He turned pro at 16, first played in the Masters when he was 17 and the Presidents Cup when he was 18. He shot 58 in the final round to win The Crowns in Japan when he was 19.

Now 26, Ishikawa has struggled with injuries and form in recent years. He lost his PGA Tour card and hasn't played in any of the majors since 2015. He has won 15 times as a professional, but has never won outside his homeland of Japan but is hopeful he can change that soon.

''My tee shot is getting better, especially in the last nine holes,'' he said. ''So if I could hit straighter, I can make more birdies in the next 18 holes.''

Chapchai was able to sleep in and put his feet up on Saturday morning after he completed his second round on Friday, just before play was suspended because of lightning strikes in the area.

To make up for lost time, event organizers announced the third round would be played in groups of three off two tees.

Round 1 - Garcia tied for lead with Kitayama in Singapore Open

January 18, 2018

Masters champion Sergio Garcia got his 2018 campaign off to a good start at the Singapore Open on Thursday, firing a five-under-par 66 to share the lead.

Garcia, who began a spectacular 2017 in Singapore last year, began slowly but picked up the pace around the turn, and fired an eagle and four birdies in his first tournament of the year.

The Spaniard, who won his first Major victory at Augusta last April and was named 2017 European Golfer of the Year, ended the day tied for the top spot with American Kurt Kitayama.

World number 10 Garcia converted an 18-inch birdie putt at the par-three 17th, then eagled a par-five 18th from three feet.

He fired a birdie at the second hole, then picked up another shot at the par-five fourth.

"I'll probably chill a little bit. I did a lot of things right, but I still have lots to work on. I'll try to stay cool, have a nice dinner and get ready for tomorrow," the 38-year-old said.

"This is a great tournament to start the year with."

Thailand's Tirawat Kaewsiribandit was threatening to share the lead before play was suspended due to lightning risk with a five-under-par through 16 holes at the Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong course.

Seventy-eight players have yet to complete round one. Play will resume early Friday.

Kitayama shot six birdies and was bogey-free for 17 holes before dropping a stroke at his final hole of the day.

Fellow American Casey O'Toole shot the first ace of the 2018 season on the Asian and Japan Tours.

O'Toole, Koumei Oda of Japan and former Singapore Open champion Jyoti Randhawa of India carded matching 68s to share second place.

Top scores after round one of the SMBC Singapore Golf Open (par 71) before play was suspended:

66 - Sergio Garcia (ESP), Kurt Kitayama (USA)

68 - Jyoti Randhawa (IND), Koumei Oda (JPN), Casey O'Toole (USA)

69 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS), Masahiro Kawamura (JPN), Chien-yao Hung (TPE), Gregory Foo (SIN), Javi Colomo (ESP), Wenchong Liang (CHN), Ryo Ishikawa (JPN), Hiroyuki Fujita (JPN), Hiroshi Iwata (JPN), Giwhan Kim (KOR)

Scores