The 2024 ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour Opening
Round 2 Press Conference
2024/4/18
Hsieh Min Hsuan clinches his second career title.
The 2024 ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour concluded its opening event today (18th) at Bombax Golf Country Club in Tainan. It was a tightly contested final round with intense battles throughout. It wasn't until the last hole that Hsieh Min Hsuan secured victory with a birdie putt, defeating Su Ching Hung's bogey and winning the championship by two strokes, claiming the prize money of NT$150,000. This marks his second career title, following his victory at the challenge tour held at Ta Kang Shan Golf Course in early July last year. Today, he shot a 68 for a total of 135 over two rounds, nine strokes under par.
Su Ching Hung finished the tournament with a score of eight under par over two rounds, tying with Hsieh Min Hsuan. However, he stumbled with a bogey on the final hole, allowing Hsieh Min Hsuan to seize the victory with a birdie putt. Su Ching Hung ended with a total score of 137, tied for second place with Lai Chia I, Tseng Tzu Hsuan, and Chen Po Hao, each receiving a prize of NT$50,000.
Hsieh Min Hsuan expressed gratitude to several individuals during his winner's speech, including his religious beliefs, his parents, Golf Gym's Lü Mei Xian, Mr. Song Ming Feng, Dream Golf's Jimmy, training partner Tony Lee, and prominent figures like He Chuan and Andy Lin. He began playing golf at the age of 11 and turned professional in 2016.
Today, he scored six birdies and two bogeys, with 34 strokes on both the front and back nine. He emphasized the importance of his second shot approach on the final hole, which landed his ball just 6 feet away from the hole, putting pressure on Su Ching Hung, who subsequently missed his putt, securing Hsieh Min Hsuan's victory.
Hsieh Min Hsuan remarked that his calm demeanor on the back nine was due to his accumulated experience from past tournaments, particularly his participation in the Japanese tour qualifying tournament at the end of last year. This experience, combined with his recent victory, has boosted his confidence and provided financial support for his upcoming tournaments. He plans to continue participating in the Taiwan tour while focusing on opportunities to compete in Japan.
The tournament is the first stop of the Taiwan Professional Golfers' Association (TPGA) ThreeBond Challenge Tour this year, with a total prize pool of NT$1 million. It is co-organized by TPGA and ThreeBond Corporation, with Bombax Golf Country Club as the main sponsor and co-organizer of the venue. A total of 86 professional players from three countries and 10 amateur players participated in the event, with the course measuring 7,182 yards.
This marks the sixth consecutive year that Bombax Golf Country Club has hosted the ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour opening event since 2019. Following the conclusion of the awards ceremony, ThreeBond Corporation and TPGA signed a contract at Bombax Golf Country Club to continue their overall sponsorship of the ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour, entering its 10th year.
The president of ThreeBond Hong Kong, Katsuyuki Uematsu, specially traveled from Hong Kong to attend the signing ceremony with TPGA this afternoon. The signing ceremony was completed by Chen Jung Hsin, chairman of TPGA, with the presence of Tai Di-Hong, general manager of ThreeBond's Taiwan branch, Chen Tze Chung, executive director of the ThreeBond Challenge Tour, and Zheng Bo-Yuan, general manager of Bombax Golf Country Club.
Additionally, Zheng Bo-Yuan, the general manager of Bombax Golf Country Club, sponsored NT$200,000 to TPGA for the development and promotion of professional golf in Taiwan, which was accepted by Chen Jung Hsin on behalf of TPGA. Zheng also sponsored the meals for the awards ceremony, the welcome banquet for VIPs, and the VIP golf gathering.
Mr. Lin Rui-Zhang, chairman of Taiwan Fu Hsing Industrial Co., Ltd., continues to provide annual bonuses of NT$500,000, NT$300,000, and NT$200,000 to the top three players in the Challenge Tour's annual prize ranking, totaling NT$1 million.
ThreeBond is a multinational corporation specializing in adhesive manufacturing, and its sponsorship of the TPGA Challenge Tour marks its 10th year. This year's ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour will consist of 9 events.
