This year’s Singapore Open presented by The Business Times did not fail to disappoint. The action on the course was accompanied by plenty of emotion off it. Here are the best quotes of the week:

Round One

First round co-leader Ekpharit Wu of Thailand on having his wife on the bag:

“It’s been a very rewarding partnership. She being by my side makes me more confident on the course. She helps me not to get angry on the golf course. When on the course, we always hit some bad shots but it’s about not getting too emotional and she helps me a lot with that. When I was an amateur I used local caddies, but when I turned professional I spoke with her and she became my caddie straight away, no question.”

Six-time Asian Tour winner John Catlin when asked how important it would be to win again after his bogey free round of 67 (-4):

“It’s huge! I mean, that’s why I put in all the work I do. That’s why I practice all the hours and put myself in that position, because I want to have that last putt on Sunday to win. That’s, I want.”

Round Two

Korean Jeongwoo Ham, the first and second round leader, on if the two spots for the Open Championship up for grabs is an added motivation:

“I honestly wasn’t really thinking too much about The Open. I was feeling envious about the Korean players who were going to play at The Open, but since today’s round has ended well, now I really want to go as well.”

James Leow from Singapore when asked about the comfort of playing at home this week:

“Yeah, I mean, I got a couple practice round before this, thanks to Senosa for letting SGA players come in and do that. It was nice to acclimatise again after Japan, the weather was a little colder there, and then coming here was a lot different, with humid and hot weather. But I had two weeks to prep, game was actually looking good just some minor tweaks here with the body and stuff. Sometimes the body doesn’t feel right. And of course, on top of that, having local fans and sponsors and supporters backing me up and supporting me. So, it’s nice to obviously play at home.”

On his college golf experience at Arizona State University with LIV Golf stars Josele Ballester and David Puig from Spain:

“I mean, the team already knew those two guys, they were world class players. They hit it a long way and have Spanish hands they call it for short game, and great putters too. So I mean all around really strong. And no surprise they are on LIV Golf right now and doing well, especially last week, finishing second and third to John Rahm, all three guys from ASU too. So yeah, I mean, from my experience playing with them, learning to enjoy, or play to your strengths.”

Jazz Janewattananond.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond on how it feels coming back to Sentosa, the site of his 2019 Singapore Open triumph:

“It’s great. I’ve been wishing and waiting for the Singapore Open to come back here. The last time I was back here was the 2020 edition, I didn’t come here for the 2022 edition. But I’ve just been missing this place a lot, the golf course is always in great shape. I mean, it’s one of the best golf courses in Asia, and it suits my eyes, so I can’t really complain. There are not many places where you get when you can get heavy rain in the morning, and then the greens being this firm to play, you know, with the sub air and everything. It’s a privilege to get to play here.”

Local amateur Brayden Lee after his second round 68 (-3), making the cut in his second consecutive Singapore Open:

“Yeah, I mean, I kept my shots in play off the tee a lot more today, thanks to my dad with a few little pointers last night. My irons were better today as well, and the putting stayed the same. So happy with the round today, but looking forward to the weekend. Honestly, it’s just the drives today were much, much better than yesterday. More fairways hit, I think I hit like three fairways yesterday, compared to maybe even double digits today. So it’s good motivation when you hit the fairways and put yourself in good spots for your approach play.”

On playing his national Open on his home course this week:

“I’m lucky to be an adopted member here, sponsored player, so I do spend most of my time around here. Yeah, it’s a really tough course, because it’s very demanding off the tee and the greens are huge and undulating. So you know, you never know what you get.”

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, an 11-time winner on the Asian Tour, on how it feels to being back in the mix after a lean spell last year:

“Well, I’ve been not playing so many events, that’s why. But yeah, I mean, it feels good to be on the first page of the leaderboard, definitely feels good. I thought I played really well last year, but the scores they were not coming at the right time. So probably this week, I’ll try to do my routine and the process, and try and give my 100%.”

Round Three

Third-round leader Jeongwoo Ham on his third round 67 (-5):

“I made a birdie on the first hole so I started off comfortably. I played the next two holes decently but on the fourth hole I made an unexpected mistake by hitting the ball into the water and bogeyed. But thanks to that, it became a medicine to bring me back to my senses. Tomorrow, I hope to do as well as I’ve been doing up till now. Since the weather is hot I want to make lesser mistakes because it becomes hotter when I make ridiculous mistakes. I want to do all I can and make use of the chances and I think all will go well.”

On his goal for tomorrow he jokingly said:

“My new goal is to not hit 90 tomorrow. I do want a spot in The Open, but in life, just because you want something it doesn’t mean you’ll get it. Life’s like that — if I get the spot, great but if not then it’s ok.”

Australian Cameron John on his round and form coming into the week:

“I came in feeling pretty good. I played well in Japan (T7), then had a week off at home. I wasn’t feeling the best physically, but I got over that quite quickly. This is a strong golf course, so it’s about being patient. I probably don’t usually play this type of course as patiently as I have this week. I’d normally hit more drivers, but I’m happy with how I’ve managed my way around it so far. I got sick after Japan, had the flu, and it knocked me around for about a week and a half. But I’ve come good just in time, which is nice.”

On his strong start to his Asian Tour and The International Series season:

“It’s great. Any opportunity to play is a good one. I want to play as many events in Asia as I can this year, so hopefully playing well here shows that I belong at this level and helps me get into a few more events.”

Cameron John.

Julien Sale from France on what’s gotten him to fourth place after three rounds:

“I’ve been hitting a lot of greens, and the putting has been pretty good. I had the pace of the greens pretty well, so managed to keep the three putts away from the card, because those greens, they’re quite fast and quite slopey sometimes. So yeah, the putting has been pretty good, and all over around like the game’s been pretty good.”

On his experience in playing Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course for the first time:

“This course is really nice, yeah, a nice championship course and really challenging. There are a few pretty holes, but also tough holes. So yeah, I like the challenge of it, I love it.”

Final Round

Wire-to-wire Singapore Open champion Jeongwoo Ham on what he’s feeling after his victory:

“I feel so good right now, I’ve achieved a dream. In the last two years my golf hasn’t been doing too well so this is a motivational factor for me. It tells me that if I prepare well, I too can win. Honestly, I was not thinking at all about winning. Even today, I was playing just so-so so I thought I’d be 10th on the leaderboard. But I won so I’m feeling very proud of myself – that my golf has improved.”

On his tough Sunday battle with runner-up Cameron John:

“Firstly, John’s flow was great and much better than mine. But there’s no such thing as an easy win. I’ve had similar experiences like this in Korea so I just told myself to go all the way and was able to get the win. Honestly, I was feeling very calm because I was sure I wasn’t going to win – that the win wasn’t mine in the first place, so I just played my golf. John did well but I too improved towards the end so I feel very satisfied.”

On his winning strategy in the final round:

“My putting was really good today, I’d say the putter saved me for around six shots. My iron play was more like a 77 or 78, while the score was around 67 or 68. So although the putting was excellent, the irons were not that good. Thankfully, the putter worked well and helped me keep the momentum going.”

On dealing with the extreme heat in Singapore:

“Honestly, I sweat a lot and struggle in the heat, so I just kept thinking: play quickly, get through it, and get back to the hotel as soon as possible. Of course you still need to hit good shots, but because it was so hot, I actually wasn’t overthinking the golf too much. That probably helped me stay relaxed. I just wanted to finish quickly, shower, and lie down under the air-conditioning.”

Asked what it means to him to qualify for the Open Championship he said:

“Firstly, having Korean and Asian players play in The Open was something that I could only be envious of, and I didn’t expect that a dream could become a reality. The Open will be a new experience for me, but I’m going to go there and drink a lot of whiskey and have fun.”

Runner-up Cameron John when asked if him and his caddie had an aggressive strategy of chasing the leader today:

“Yeah, I was hitting it really solid, so we felt like the worst outcome was probably par most of the time. That gave us the confidence to stay aggressive. I hit a few really nice shots and holed a couple of long putts, so it worked well.”

On booking a place at this summer’s Open Championship he said:

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’ve wanted to play in Major championships my whole life. I came close back home in Australia, so to come over here and get it done means a lot. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

Low Singaporean Ryan Ang after his final round 66 (-5) to finish T12:

“Yeah, don’t really know what to say, to be honest, came out here just wanting to put a good round on the board. Got off to a pretty good start, and then kind of caught fire on the turn from 18 until four. Rain delay kind of happened at a not so good timing, caught me off guard, but, yeah, happy I reset after rain delay. Pity about the bogey on eight, but I hit good shots coming in. I hit committed shots coming in, that’s all we want. And honestly, I take five under all day at Serapong.”