Making an Impact

Alex Jenkins takes a look at the highlights from 2015, a year that proved to be one of the most important and memorable in Hong Kong golfing history.

Leon D'Souza

Player of the Year

Twelve months is a long time for a golfer, especially a junior golfer – and during that period Leon D'Souza has gone from being one of a talented group of Hong Kong youngsters into the most dominant player around.

Starting from December 2014, D'Souza's record has been outstanding. A play-off victory at the AmBank SportExcel International Championships in Malaysia was quickly followed by a win at the Junior Golf Team Championship at Fanling. Just a few days later, D'Souza was putting the finishing touches on a seven-shot triumph at the HKGA's Winter Junior Championship at The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau.

Over the Lunar New Year holiday, a final-round 68 lifted D'Souza into third place at the Hong Kong Close Amateur, while April saw him claim a two-shot victory at the Junior Close, which was held at Discovery Bay.

By now, D'Souza was firing on all cylinders. In August he won the Hong Kong Junior Open by a jaw-dropping seven shots after a final-round 67 and then, just a few short weeks later, he won the biggest local men's amateur event of them all – the Hong Kong Open Amateur Championship – at Fanling by six shots from his international teammate Oliver Roberts.

D'Souza made his debut at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in October where he hit one of the finest shots of the year. Needing a birdie at Clearwater Bay's par-5 closing hole to make the cut in the continent's most prestigious amateur tournament, the 17-year-old smashed a driver down the fairway before launching a 220-yard hybrid to within tap-in distance for eagle – and safety. That, as much as his plethora of wins, says a lot about D'Souza's ability to perform under pressure. It's going to be fun seeing what he goes on to achieve in 2016.

Winner: Leon D'Souza

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