An, Minh honoured best golfers of 2023

Lê Chúc An wins two titles at the VGA Golf Awards 2023, which was held on January 28 in Hà Nội. Photos courtesy of VGA

HÀ NỘI — Teenager Lê Chúc An wrapped up her brilliant year with a double at the VGA Golf Awards 2023 which was held on the night of January 28 in Hà Nội.

The 16-year-old was voted the Female Golfer of the Year and Young Female Golfer of the Year at the award ceremony honouring the most outstanding golfers through 2023 at the Hà Nội Opera House.

The award was resumed after three years of suspension because of the pandemic. The ceremony was an opportunity for the Vietnam Golf Association (VGA) to express pride in the contributions of Vietnamese athletes in the year, and at the same time, promote the development of local golf and the young generation of athletes – the future of golf in the country, according to VGA Chairman Lê Kiên Thành.

“I feel very grateful for everyone’s attention and support over the years. Attending tournaments really brings me a lot of joy, emotions and valuable experiences. These awards will further motivate me in my upcoming journey,” An said after taking her titles.

In 2023, An participated in many tournaments and she earned remarkable results, the best one being the National Golf Championship gold medal.

An was a member of the national team competing in important events such as the 32nd SEA Games and 19th Asian Games.

Currently, she is the No. 1 amateur golfer of Việt Nam, standing in the world’s top 400.

The Male Golfer of the Year went to Nguyễn Anh Minh, who put it an amazing 2023, starring in not only domestic but also international competitions.

Nguyễn Anh Minh is VGA’s Male Golfer of the Year after his outstanding achievements in 2023.

The 16-year-old won bronze at the 32nd SEA Games and was the first Vietnamese athlete to win the Faldo Series Asia. Minh was an important member of the Asia-Pacific team triumphing at the Bonallack Trophy, an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup, held every two years with a European team playing a team representing the Asia Pacific.

Lê Khánh Hưng took the award for the Young Male of the Year.

2023 was considered a breakthrough year for the 15-year-old. He opened the year with a victory at the VGA Lexus Challenge before making history as the first Vietnamese to win a title at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia.

During his time studying in the US, he also won the American Jr Golf Association Florida three times.

The Most Favourite Golfer of the Year award was given to 13-year-old Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng. This was the only category that was decided by the supporters.

He made his name in the world amateur ranking after bringing home a title from the Junior Asian Tour 2023. He was the youngest Vietnamese listed in this ranking at No 3567.

In local competitions, Hoàng finished second at the Thăng Long Junior Master 2023’s U15 class, and third at the Vietnam Junior Open 2023’s U15 category. He also took second place in stages 2, 4, 5 and 6 at the first season of the VGA Junior Tour.

In the last two disciplines of the night, veteran Trương Chí Quân was honoured as VGA Tour Golfer of the Year and Hà Nội was the Best Golf Association of the Year.

After the award activities, the VGA also announced its competition system of 2024.

The VGA Golf Awards 2023 is organised again after three years of suspension, highlighting the best national athletes and promoting golf development.

There are five professional events of the VGA Tour, starting with the fourth Lexus Challenge which has become an official tournament of the Asian Development Tour (ADT). It will be held in March with the total bonus increased to US$85,000.

The National Golf Championship, Vietnam Open and Vietnam Masters, the highest level of domestic golf, will be next with the time to be confirmed later.

The best golfers of the above tournaments will be picked to vie for the trophy of the VGA Tour Championship in December.

Seven competitions are planned for amateur players. In addition to the annual events, VGA will add two new ones of national men’s and women’s golf championships.

Young golfers will have opportunities to shine in 10 events at the VGA Junior Tour which will be held in all three regions of the country. VNS