Five historic DP World Tour wins in Singapore

From Major Champions and future World Number Ones celebrating success to a historic home winner, the DP World Tour has witnessed some memorable moments over the years in Singapore.

After a nine-year absence on the schedule, the Tour is this week returning to the Far East country for the inaugural Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

The venue previously hosted the Singapore Masters from 2002 to 2007 and was also the scene of the Tour’s last visit, when Chilean Felipe Aguilar triumphed at The Championship in 2014.

Ahead of this year’s event, the first in a three-year agreement, we look back on the stories of five past champions from our visits to Singapore since the Tour first visited in 1993.

Faldo wins Montgomerie duel on Tour’s first visit to Singapore

The third stop on the 1993 DP World Tour season was to ‘the Lion City’, with a world-class field assembled for the Johnnie Walker Classic at Singapore Island Country Club. The previous two Masters Champions Fred Couples and Ian Woosnam were joined by Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Vijay Singh and Ernie Els among others. The final round saw a thrilling duel play out between two of Europe’s finest golfers at the time in Faldo and Montgomerie. Faldo held a three-shot lead over Montgomerie going into the final day, but he was pushed all the way by his 1991 Ryder Cup teammate, requiring a birdie putt at the 18th to secure a wire-to-wire victory. Four birdies in a row from the tenth had seen Montgomerie draw level with the Englishman, before the Scot bogeyed the 16th to drop out of a share of the lead. The victory was Faldo’s 28th Tour success, while for Montgomerie it proved the springboard for him to win the Order of Merit – now known as the Race to Dubai in Partnership with Rolex – for the first time later that year.

Woosnam defeats Coltart in play-off

Three years later, Woosnam defeated Scotsman Andrew Coltart at the third extra hole to claim victory when the Johnnie Walker Classic returned to Singapore. The Welshman had earlier holed a 25-foot birdie putt at the 18th to force a play-off after both players finished on 16 under. Coltart, who was bidding to claim his maiden Tour win, had made seven birdies in the final round at Tanah Merah Country Club. The win was the first of back-to-back titles on Tour for Woosnam as he followed it up with a one-stroke victory over Paul McGinley and Jean van de Velde at the Heineken Classic in Australia. Those triumphs provided the platform for the 1991 Masters Champion to finish second on the season-long rankings after landing further titles in Scotland and Germany.

Atwal becomes first Indian to win Tour event

Arjun Atwal created a piece of history as he became the first Indian to win a Tour event at the Singapore Masters in 2002. He carded a bogey-free final-round 68 to claim a five-shot win over runner-up Richard Green. Beginning the final round with a one-shot lead, he moved further clear with three birdies in a front nine 33 before he followed his fourth and final birdie of the day by parring the final seven holes. This was the tournament’s second edition, having moved from Singapore Island CC - where Singh celebrated success a year earlier - to Laguna National. Victory in his 18th event saw Atwal become the fourth Asian golfer to win on the Tour and just the second Indian player after Jeev Milka Singh to earn membership.

Montgomerie returns to winner’s circle after 16-month wait

After going a full year without a win on Tour for the first time in more than a decade in 2003, Montgomerie produced a flawless closing seven under par 65 to win the 2004 Singapore Masters. The then seven-time European Number One did not drop a shot for the third day running as he overturned a four-stroke deficit to finish three shots clear of third-round leader Gregory Hanrahan. The victory was his 28th Tour triumph and his first since he shared the season-ending Volvo Masters with Bernhard Langer in 2002. "This means an awful lot to me, it means confidence. I lost it last year and I have it back now," Montgomerie said. A year later, the Scot won the Order of Merit for a record eighth time and first since 1999.

Mamat denies Dougherty repeat win to triumph on home soil

An emotional Mardan Mamat claimed his first Tour title in emotional fashion as he completed a wire-to-wire success in his home country at Laguna National in 2006. A final-round one-under 71 was enough for victory as he finished on 12 under, one shot ahead of defending champion Nick Dougherty who had birdied three of the last four holes to prompt a thrilling finish. Holding a one-shot overnight advantage, 38-year-old Mamat made the ideal start to the final day with a pair of birdies on the opening two holes pulling him clear at the top, before he recovered from bogeys at the sixth and eighth to show his determination down the closing stretch.