Rio on her mind: Olympics beckon for Hong Kong golfing starlet Tiffany Chan
HK Ladies Open winner lands in Korea for another professional event in bid to cement place at Games
Twenty-four hours after beating the professionals in the Hong Kong Ladies Open at Fanling, golden golfing girl Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching finds herself in line to earn one of the 60 elite spots available in Rio, which sees the game’s return to the Olympics for the first time in over a century.
The 22-year-old amateur from Tuen Mun produced a stunning birdie on the 18th hole on the Old Course at Hong Kong Golf Club to force a play-off with Thailand’s Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul, then went on to win at the first extra hole.
Although Chan has been in the top echelons of the World Amateur Golf Ranking for more than two years, her victory moved up her up 118 spots to No 440 in the Women’s World Golf Rankings, which awards points based on performances in professional tournaments.
Just as importantly, the result is expected to move her into 57th place in the Olympic rankings when they are published on Tuesday, with the top 60 players assured of their starting berths in Brazil when the qualification period ends on July 11.
Watch: Tiffany Chan shares her thoughts on her future
It is, as the University of Southern California student attests, a complicated qualifying system with the potential for further fluctuations, but her focus now is to improve her position, which she hopes to achieve at this week’s Korea Women’s Open Golf Championship in Incheon.
