Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Ryan Ang and Aloysa Atienza delivered a double dose of delight for Singapore at the 15th Kuala Lumpur Amateur Open.

The victories of Ang and Atienza in the men’s and women’s categories at the Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam were especially notable as they marked their first overseas triumphs.

“This win means a lot to me,” said Ang, who broke 70 in all three rounds (69-68-68) for a runaway 12-shot win from Malaysian Nateeshvar Ganesh in the 54-hole stroke play event.

“I felt like I’ve been knocking on the door a couple of times, but haven’t been able to piece together an overall solid tournament. To finally get over the line and win it in a wire-to-wire fashion made it all the more special.

“It’s also my first international win … so hopefully this opens the floodgates for bigger wins to come. The hard work is slowly paying off. I’ll savour this win, but I’ll be back on the grind again as I still have much to improve,” added Ang, 286th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

A member of the Singapore teams that participated in last year’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, Hangzhou Asian Games and World Amateur Team Championships, Ang was the leading Singaporean at the 2023 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Royal Melbourne in Australia where he tied for 19th.

He also had the distinction of making the cut in two professional tournaments last year – the DP World Tour’s Singapore Classic at Laguna National and the Asian Tour’s International Series Singapore at Tanah Merah.

Atienza, meanwhile, capped a memorable week for Singapore by clinching the women’s title by seven shots after carding three rounds of 73 for a winning total of three-over 219.

“It’s my first international win! It surely means a lot to me because it just shows my progress over the last couple of months, especially on the mental side,” said the 25-year-old, who began the week in 437th place in the WAGR.

“It was not the prettiest golf game this week in terms of ball striking, but keeping my head in the game kept me in contention and consistent and I’m just grateful for the chance to win.

“To see that I’m able to play consistent scores with my ‘C’ game means so much more than the win itself. It’s a win for me, my team and the SGA,” said Atienza, a stalwart of the Singapore women’s teams at the SEA Games, Hangzhou Asian Games, World Amateur Team Championships and Queen Sirikit Cup over the past 18 months.

Atienza made the cut in the last two editions of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, following a tied for 49th at Singapore Island Country Club last year with a share of 22nd place at Thailand’s Siam Country Club in February.