Greetings forumers from humid Singapore where I'm covering the Asian Amateur Championship for the magazine.
It's 3.30 in the morning your time as I write this so you'll all be safely in the land of nod dreaming about that 68 you would almost certainly be shooting tomorrow if only work didn't get in the way.
You can follow my reports from Singapore in the Amateur News section of this website, the first of which you'll find via this link:
http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/tours-and-news/amateurnews/529232/asian-amateur-championship-2011.html
I'll also be tweeting regularly with the odd competition prize up for grabs once the tournament kicks off on Thurs:
http://twitter.com/#!/golfmonthly
Anyway, for the category 1 guys among you I've just spotted a way for you to get into this event next year. The rules state that each Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) member association is entitled to send two players based on the world amateur rankings but - and this is the crucial bit - "If there is not a sufficient number of players ranked from a member association, that association may nominate a player(s) from their association with an established handicap of less than 5.4, subject to APGC approval, to fill two positions."
So as I see it, all you need to do is apply for citizenship of one the more obscure member states - looking at the list, perhaps Bhutan, Guam, Mongolia or the Solomon Islands - and Bob's your uncle. This time next year - providing you can persuade the other half to move to the other side of the world - you could be teeing it up somewhere in the Far East, and if all goes well, maybe even winning and earning a spot in the Masters the following year!
We can all dream, eh? But the good news for you is that with my h'cap slipping up to category 2 of late, I won't be standing in your way. Not that I could see the missus wanting to move to Bhutan anyway...
It's 3.30 in the morning your time as I write this so you'll all be safely in the land of nod dreaming about that 68 you would almost certainly be shooting tomorrow if only work didn't get in the way.
You can follow my reports from Singapore in the Amateur News section of this website, the first of which you'll find via this link:
http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/tours-and-news/amateurnews/529232/asian-amateur-championship-2011.html
I'll also be tweeting regularly with the odd competition prize up for grabs once the tournament kicks off on Thurs:
http://twitter.com/#!/golfmonthly
Anyway, for the category 1 guys among you I've just spotted a way for you to get into this event next year. The rules state that each Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) member association is entitled to send two players based on the world amateur rankings but - and this is the crucial bit - "If there is not a sufficient number of players ranked from a member association, that association may nominate a player(s) from their association with an established handicap of less than 5.4, subject to APGC approval, to fill two positions."
So as I see it, all you need to do is apply for citizenship of one the more obscure member states - looking at the list, perhaps Bhutan, Guam, Mongolia or the Solomon Islands - and Bob's your uncle. This time next year - providing you can persuade the other half to move to the other side of the world - you could be teeing it up somewhere in the Far East, and if all goes well, maybe even winning and earning a spot in the Masters the following year!
We can all dream, eh? But the good news for you is that with my h'cap slipping up to category 2 of late, I won't be standing in your way. Not that I could see the missus wanting to move to Bhutan anyway...
