The 24-year-old says home advantage means more than just familiar fairways. Kho made history at the Fanling course in 2023 when he became the first player from Hong Kong, China, to ace an Asian Tour event, a win that would later see him crowned Rookie of the Year for the region.
“I think to come back to the Hong Kong Golf Club, play the composite course for the National Games, is really, really special,” he said.
“It was where I made my first professional victory so it has a really soft place in my heart and it’s somewhere I really love to play.”
The 24-year-old said negotiating his way to mental clarity is par for the course if one is not to duff things up in golf.
“It’s a game where you can have a lot of distracting thoughts,” Kho said.
“It’s really challenging because you won’t have the same shot twice. So for you to be able to stand up to each shot with a quiet mind gives you the clarity that you need to be able to take on the shot for whatever you need.”
Kho said he prefers not to come under the pressure of having to produce results but rather faith in his ability to perform at his best.
“I know my best golf can win the golf tournament. I know my team’s best can win the golf tournament. So we’re really looking forward to playing our best, and if we do so, I know we can medal,” he said.
Kho will be joined by Matthew Cheung, Jason Hak and Jeffrey Shen in representing the SAR in the men’s team event while Tiffany Chan, Ginnie Ding, Arianna Lau and Sophie Han will take part in the women’s competition. Team Hong Kong will be vying for four medals in the individual and team events.
