GIRLS ON FIRE

Representing one's country, either as an amateur or a professional, in a sport you love, is a dream come true. JUSTINE MOSS catches up with the Singapore Golf Association's Women's National Squad to find out more about their dedication to the game.

- JUSTINE MOSS

ALOYSA ATIENZA

The year 2022 was a big one for Aloysa. Not only did she graduate with a Civil Engineering Degree from the National University of Singapore, but she won the Women's Golf Individual Silver medal at the SEA Games in Vietnam. Shooting a final round 65, it was her SEA Games debut and the first time in 30 years that Singapore had achieved this.

With all this success, it's not surprising that Singapore's second highestranked amateur is looking to turn pro in the not so distant future. But there are a number of tournaments to compete in first, including the recently concluded South East Asian Amateur Golf Team Championship 2024 which took place at Seletar Country Club. "I'll be doing the stretch of qualifying tournaments for most of the tours, LPGA, European Tour, Korea. So, my main priority this year would be to try and secure a tour card and then hopefully I can turn pro at the end of this year or early 2025."

She adds, "I think that Shannon Tan has shown a lot of us girls that it is possible and there are many different routes to achieving your goal. For myself, one of my biggest goals is to play for Singapore in the Olympics."

Aside from family, one major mentor in her life has been former SGA National Coach Matt Ballard.

"It was pretty life-changing because I think in that few years - my first couple of years in the national team - he really guided me and helped me improve on my fundamentals. That got my skills a lot better just seeing my potential and how good I can possibly get and his words of affirmation. I think everything came together. He was definitely played a significant role in where I am right now."