SPORTS SINGAPORE BOOK OF RECORDS
First National Football League
The fi rst National Football League was launched again in 1975 after the Singapore Football League was wound down in 1961. Geylang International won the fi rst three seasons from 1975 to 1977.
First Professional League
The fi rst professional football league in Sin- gapore was launched in 1996. It was called the S-League. Geylang United was the fi rst S-League champion. SAF Football Club won the most number of league titles.
First S-League Goal
The fi rst goal of the S-League was scored by Balestier Central’s Bosnian import, Esad Sedjic, against Police Football Club on 20 Apr 1996, at the Toa Payoh Stadium. Sedjic also scored the fi rst hat-trick of the S-League on 23 Apr 1996 against Sembawang Rangers.
First Players To Score 100 Goals In The S-League
Home United’s Brazilian-import, Egmar Gon- calvez, was the fi rst player to score 100 goals in the S-League in 2001. By Aug 2004, he had scored 200 goals. The fi rst local player to score 100 goals was Indra Sahdan Daud.
First Singaporean At The Olympic Games
Footballer Chua Boon Lay went for trials at the 1936 Berlin Games, making him the fi rst Singaporean to participate in the Olympics. However, he was playing for the All-China football team.
Referee Of The Most World Cup Matches
Shamsul Maidin offi - ciated in three prelimi- nary matches in the Jun 2006 World Cup and was the fi rst referee to be awarded a second and third match by FIFA. He was also the fi rst Singaporean to offi ciate three World Cup matches.
First Soccer Referee At World Cup Finals
George Suppiah became the fi rst Singaporean to referee a major international soccer event when he served at the 1974 World Cup fi nals in Germany. His career spanned 43 international ‘A’ matches from 1953 to 1978.
PAGE 206
First To Play In An English Football Club
Noh Alam Shah of Tampines Rovers was the fi rst Singaporean to play in an English football club. He began his stint with the League Two club, Notts County in Jul 2002.
First Women Football Coaches
Catherine Chung Wei Yin was the fi rst Singa- porean woman to qualify as a football coach. She started teaching football in Jagoh Primary School in 1994. The fi rst woman in Singapore to qualify as football coach was Mary Deak from Germany who was trained under English coach Trevor Hartley in 1978. Deak taught in Corporation Primary School.
Golf
First To Win Singapore Open (Women)
Kee Bee Khim became the fi rst Asian woman golfer, at the age of 18, to win the Singapore Island Country Club Tournament for women in 1971. In 1972, she became the fi rst Singaporean to win the Singapore Open Women’s Golf Championship. In 1981, she scored SICC’s fi rst hole-in-one in the Singapore Ladies’ Open Championship.
Largest Sports Sponsorship In History
Barclays sponsored the US$3 million Singapore Open, Asia’s richest national Open. Already ranked among the top ten richest national Opens in the world, Barclays increased the prize money to US$4 million in 2007, US$5 million in 2008 and thereafter until at least 2012.
Top Golfer
31-year-old Lam Chih Bing broke into the top 200 in the world rankings at Number 189, overtaking fellow golfer Mardan Mamat, after winning his fi rst Asian Tour title at the Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok on 21 Dec 2008. Lam was the fi rst Singaporean golfer to play all four rounds at the British Open in Jul 2008.
First Double Holes-In-One
Two golfi ng brothers aced the same hole dur- ing a round at the Sembawang Country Club, defying odds of 17 million to one. Chiang Hock Woo, 48, and Chiang Hock Tew, 46, got their fi rst-ever holes-in-one within minutes of each other at the 135m (147-yard), par-3 second hole on 31 Jan 2006. They were in a foursome with two American friends.
First Inter-School Golf Tournament
The fi rst-ever Inter-School Golf Tourna- ment was held in Mar 2002. 80 students participated.
Largest Golf Club
OAAG was established in Singapore in 1998. It has grown to be the world’s largest golf club without real estate. The club has a current membership of 3.5 million, off ering access to 6,000 golf courses worldwide. It has offi ces in 13 countries providing golf concierge with 24-hr call centres.
First To Win The European Tour
Mardan Mamat made history on 12 Mar 2006 when he won the US$1 million Osim Singapore Masters by one stroke from titleholder Nick Dougherty. Mardan became the fi rst local player to win the co-sanctioned Singapore Masters in its six-year history at Laguna National Golf and Country Club and also the fi rst Singaporean winner on the European Tour, receiving US$166,660 from the victory.
Youngest To Achieve Hole-In-One
Jordan Tsan, eight, hit a seven-wood off the 87m sixth hole at the Mandai public course on 26 Jan 2007. Tsan is a Poi Ching Primary School pupil.
First To Win An Asian Open
Mardan Mamat was the fi rst Singapore golfer to capture an Asian Open title when he won the Indian Open in Apr 2004. He was also the fi rst Singaporean to qualify for the Dynasty Cup tournament. In 1997, he was the fi rst Singaporean golfer to play in the British Open.
First To Win Singapore Amateur Open
Samson Gimson was the fi rst Singapore amateur golfer to win the Singapore Amateur Open in 1989. The second was Choo Tze Huang, who won it in Aug 2005. Gimson was also the fi rst Singapore golfer to play the Japanese circuit when he cleared the Japanese Tour Qualifying School in 1992.
First Game
The fi rst golf game was played on 17 Jun 1891 at the race course in Farrer Park. Justice Sir John Tankerville Goldney and other members of the Sporting Club played the inaugural game to the forming of the Singapore Golf Club at Farrer Park.
First Club
The Singapore Golf Club was formed in Jun 1891, with Justice Goldney as its fi rst president. The entrance fee was S$2, while the annual subscription was S$6, with a club membership of 150. Women were only allowed to play on Tuesdays. In 1938, the all-white club became known as the Royal Singapore Golf Club.
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