Singapore, April 18 (VNA) – Men golfers of Singapore have prepared for best performance at the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) despite the absence of their ace player, defending champion James Leow.

James Leow, currently a senior at Arizona State University in the US, has informed the Singapore Golf Association that he is not available for SEA Games 31 that will be held in Vietnam next month, as he will join a tournament in the US.

In the 30th SEA Games, Leow beat his Thai rival Tanapat Pichaikool to bag gold medal, which was a historical victory of Singaporean golf after 30 years since the gold medal brought home by Samson Gimson from SEA Games in 1989 in Malaysia.

Despite Leow’s absence, head coach of the Singapore’s national men golf team Matt Ballard is still optimistic about the team’s success at SEA Games as he has made careful preparation for other potential golfers such as Ryan Ang, Justin Kuk, Hiroshi Tai and Wong Qi Wen.

He said that the Heron Lake golf course and resort - the venue for the golf tournament at the SEA Games 31 - is familiar for Singaporean golfers, where the team won the individual and team championships at Putra Cup 2019.

Ballard said the Singaporean golf team is determined to defend the individual gold medal and aims for the team gold medal at the SEA Games 31./.