EVENTS

Flying The Flag

18 Oct 2024

Three finalists from the 2024 BMW Golf Cup Singapore Qualifying will represent the country in the World Final in 2025.

It’s not every day that a golfer gets to represent his or her country playing a game that they love. But the BMW Golf Cup lets three successful players live their dream.

As one of the oldest and most highly acclaimed corporate golf tournament around, the BMW Golf Cup is an annual premier amateur tournament where qualifiers from all over the world come together in a grand World Final. The 2024 BMW Golf Cup World Final will be held at the highly regarded Alpine Golf Club in Bangkok, Thailand, in March 2025.

In Singapore, this year’s BMW Golf Cup National Final was held against the picturesque and challenging Tampines Course at Tanah Merah Country Club. Participants included qualifiers from monthly medal tournaments held at three of Singapore’s most prestigious golf clubs – Tanah Merah, Singapore Island Country Club, and Sentosa Golf Club.

Happy faces all round before tee off

The BMW Golf Cup National Final not only gave participants a chance to vie for the three coveted spots to represent Singapore in the World Final, but also allowed players to celebrate the camaraderie golf affords, and the attractions and features of a high-end BMW golf event.

After a hard-fought National Final, Joe Chong (Men Category 1), Nathaneal Tan (Men Category 2), and Sara Lew (Ladies) will don Singapore colours when the team ventures to Thailand next March.

Hearing about the event was somewhat serendipitous for Joe Chong, a BMW owner. “My golfing friends who are also BMW owners told me about this event and asked me to participate,” he said.

Happy faces all round before tee off

Truth be told I did not prepare for it,” Chong recalls. “I was down with fever and flu a couple of weeks before. I wanted to reach TMCC an hour early prior to tee off and warm up hitting maybe 50 balls and a few chips, making sure I could actually swing, but I was late and just made it to tee off."

“Looking back it was a blessing in disguise as I went in with no expectations and played freely.”

BMW Group Asia Managing Director Lars Nielsen (right) gets the lowdown on choosing the right golf ball from Joe Chilcott of Acushnet Singapore.

Nathaneal Tan, on the other hand, has been an avid proponent of the BMW Golf Cup. “I’ve been participating in this event since 2019,” he quips. “I decided to participate in this event initially seeing how it was for BMW owners, and that it also met my passion for the game.”

Tan finished third in the BMW Golf Cup National Final in 2021, and was quietly confident of doing better this year. “I’d be lying if I said I had no expectations,” he confessed.

Fine form on show at Tanah Merah’s Tampines Course

“Honestly, I’ve learnt it’s best not to have any. It’s easier to manage your mental well-being that way. Of course at the back of your head, you’re quietly hoping for the best, and that you’d get lucky somehow on the day itself. Completing the round would be awesome, winning something would be a welcome bonus.”

Topping his category was just reward for Tan’s continued perseverance and support of the tournament. Part of the draw of playing in the BMW Golf Cup is how different and unique the tournament is, and how it rewards the loyalty among BMW car owners.

BMW’s latest models on parade at the event.

Chong adds that, “The tournament was very well organised, very youthful and modern, from the reception, the decor, to the games and welcome pack it was a very good reflection of BMW’s sporty, youthful and sophisticated image and branding. I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Tan concurs. “It definitely punches above its weight when compared to other tournaments I’ve participated in. I think the hospitality of the event organisers would be what I appreciated the most. This year, in particular, seems to have more engagement than before, which is always nice. The involvement by higher management during the dinner was a nice gesture. Having the presence of sponsors and the corresponding interaction added to the festivities of the day.

More fun was held at dinner after the golf game

Now that the hard part of qualifying is over, the three successful players will be looking towards the World Final in Bangkok next year.

“I think avoiding injuries in golf might be one of the best way to prepare for it,” Chong admits. “In the run up to representing Singapore I will try and be as disciplined as I can by staying healthy and fit. I plan on going to the gym twice a week, hitting the range on weekends, and trying to play at least once a fortnight.”

The ballroom at Tanah Merah CC’s Tampines course was a fine venue for the dinner and prize presentation

Playing in the World Final, however, is more than just trying to win. Both Tan and Chong feel that the event at Alpine Golf Club will also be about absorbing the whole experience and bonding with fellow BMW owners over the shared love of golf.

“I plan on enjoying the event and the time spent there with my wife, as well as meeting the fellow participants whilst playing at what I am certain would be a fantastic golf course! Anything else would truly be a bonus,” Tan adds.

The wide-reaching BMW Golf Cup is a manifestation of how golf and the brand make for fine bedfellows. If anything, it reinforces the value BMW places on its owners, and the shared values it has with the game.

Cheers to a successful 2024 BMW Golf Cup National Final

“I’d like to say that the BMW Golf Cup has reaffirmed my believe in the brand’s sporty, youthful and sophisticated image,” provides Chong, the Men Category 1 finalist.

Tan shares in this impression. “This event has done nothing but heighten my already positive opinion of the BMW branding. When you hear from those who have driven almost every other car brand and tell you that the drive and handling of a BMW is still their favourite, you know you’ve made the right choice too. I didn’t realise it but I’ve been driving a BMW for almost one third of my life now.” 

Ownership and loyalty have their privileges, and for Chong, Tan and Lew, the epitome is flying the Singapore flag at the BMW Golf Cup World Final.

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