Golf: Woo out to wow

Golf: Woo out to wow

Talk to Singapore golfer Jonathan Woo about American collegiate sports, and his eyes light up.

Ask the University of Oregon undergrad how the Ducks - the mascot of the school's athletic programme - are doing this year, and he will ask you "which sport?".

"Our football team aren't doing too well. We lost to Stanford and Arizona recently," he replied with a sigh. "Our basketball team are pretty good though. We're ranked pretty high this year."

Woo himself is a student-athlete in the US.

Ranked No. 1 on the Oregon golf team, the 23-year-old won the Duck Invitational in March.

The third-year social science major also helped his university retain the team title in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) event.

Next week, he will be shedding his college colours for the red and white of Singapore.

Woo, along with Marc Ong, Jerome Ng and Abdul Hadi, are leading the Republic's charge for gold in men's golf at the South-east Asia (SEA) Games in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

Speaking to The New Paper on Saturday on his return to Singapore before flying off to Myanmar on Thursday, the softspoken Woo had no qualms about discussing every other sport other than golf.

The ardent Manchester United fan spoke of his plans to catch American football team Seattle Seahawks in action when he returns to the US next month.

He has already seen the Portland Trail Blazers in NBA action, an experience he describes as "crazy fun".

Growing up in Singapore, Woo tried his hand at several sports - tennis, badminton, swimming, basketball - before opting for golf while studying at Anglo- Chinese School (Independent).

"Golf is my one true love. I was playing so many sports all at once, but golf was what I really excelled at," Woo explained.

"I'm more suited towards individual sport - because I always want the ball; I want to be in control."

Woo first picked up the golf club at the age of four - encouraged by his parents Ben and Chai Yueh-mei - while trying to putt in his garden at home.

Ninteen years on, he is on track towards fulfilling his dream of turning professional. Woo plans to do so in 2015 after completing his studies.

STELLAR YEAR

Last year was a stellar one for him as he won the Warren Amateur Open, the Singapore National Amateur Open and the Putra Cup, which saw him crowned as South-east Asia's best amateur golfer.

The icing on the cake was the end-of-year Barclays Singapore Open, where he made headlines for being the highest- placed amateur.

Next up, the SEA Games, where Woo believes he and his team mates are on course to ending a gold drought which stretches back 24 years, to Samson Gimson's 1989 success in Kuala Lumpur.

"We definitely have a good chance for the gold medal this year. If we don't win this one, we would be terribly disappointed, to be honest," he said.

"But of course, this is golf. Anything can happen."

The men's golf competition begins on Dec 15 at the Naypyidaw City golf course.

In the meantime, Woo is keeping himself busy with the NCAA.

"Our basketball team play Ol' Miss Monday morning. That should be a good game, I'll be keeping track of the scores, for sure," he said.


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