Fire tests gold, pressure creates diamonds

On the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2025), in the morning sunlight flooding FLC Golf Links Quy Nhon, the National Golf Championship - Gia Lai 2025 officially opened after a beautiful tee shot by Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan. Before that, Chairman Pham Anh Tuan expressed his honor and pride when Gia Lai was the first province after the merger to host the National Golf Championship 2025, coinciding with the time when the locality also organized 10 groundbreaking and inauguration events, celebrating major national holidays and the establishment of the new Gia Lai province.

Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan, journalist Phung Cong Suong and the Organizing Committee at the Opening Ceremony. Photo: Trong Tai

Also attending the Opening Ceremony were Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich - Vice Chairwoman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee, Ms. Do Thi Dieu Hanh - Director of Gia Lai Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Co-Head of the Organizing Committee and Mr. Nguyen Thai Duong - Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Golf Association, Director of the tournament, Permanent Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee. Journalist Phung Cong Suong - Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong newspaper, Co-Head of the Organizing Committee, believes that "with the noble sportsmanship , careful preparation and determination of the golfers, the 2025 National Golf Championship will be a great success, once again affirming the prestige of the tournament as well as elevating the level of golfers".

On the opening day, 125 golfers (106 men and 19 women) enjoyed the atmosphere of a national tournament and experienced the challenges of FLC Golf Links Quy Nhon. Although the golfers arrived at one of the most beautiful golf courses in Asia many days in advance and had positive test shots, many encountered difficulties when entering the official competition. Among the golfers who started in the morning, no one completed 18 holes with a negative score.

Do Duong Gia Minh became the first golfer to end the first day of competition with a negative score. Photo: Duong Trieu

At FLC Golf Links Quy Nhon, hole 12 par 4 is considered the most difficult. It is not surprising that many bogeys, even double bogeys, were created here. However, as journalist Phung Cong Suong said, the challenges were created to honor the talent of golfers, motivating everyone to demonstrate their intelligence, skills and courage. That is the reason why many people successfully made par, with a good swing, followed by another perfect second shot. In particular, female golfer Nguyen Thao My showed her experience and excellent calculation ability when scoring birdie. Unfortunately, she only ranked 3rd after the first day with a score of +3, behind Le Chuc An and Than Bao Nghi, who tied for first place with a score of +2.

Nguyen Duc Son also made a strong impression on hole 12 with a birdie to quickly rise to the top of the rankings. However, at the end of the day, something unexpected happened when Duc Son had 2 bogeys, 1 triple bogey in the last 5 holes, then finished the first day with a score of +3 and tied for 5th place. Meanwhile, young golfer Do Duong Gia Minh completed 18 holes with 7 birdies, rising to the top of the rankings with a score of -1. Gia Minh was also the only person to have a negative score on the first day.

However, it is just the beginning. The best things are still ahead, and many special marks are promised to be created in the next competition day, when golfers have to push themselves to overcome the cut. And let's see how fire tests gold, pressure creates diamonds.