MUCH like what’s happening in the English Premier League (EPL) this season, The Business Times Corporate Golf League tournament witnessed another major switch of positions among the top three teams.

Just a month ago, the EPL table was led by Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City – in that order. Today, those positions are reversed thanks to a series of unpredictable results.

In the BT Corporate Golf League, Team Boss led after the first leg in March. Singapore Global Trust overtook them at the summit after the second round, and now it is SPH Sultans of Swing that find themselves in first place after a captivating third leg.

The SPH team, the cellar-dwellers last year, bounced back in style with consistent rounds from Tim Pinnegar (34 points) after a brilliant five-over 77, Sreerangan Kurup (34 points) and Bob Seth (33 points) at Tanah Merah Country Club’s (TMCC) challenging Tampines course.

The team from Singapore Pools, which is the presenting sponsor of the annual competition, also put in a strong showing in the third leg; they are now at third in the table, thanks to their total of 107 points.

Their good performance was largely thanks to Gerald Ng and TMCC league player Samir Bedi, who combined for a total of 72 points. Team captain Tay Boon Khai chipped in with the other 35 points.

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After the three rounds, SPH Sultans of Swing head the pack with a total of 248 points, four ahead of second-placed defending champions Team Boss, and five more than third-placed Singapore Pools.

Tay, Singapore Pools’ chief of risk and compliance, said: “(Our) transformation came about because we fielded two partners, Gerald and Samir, both of whom are seasoned golfers. They have inspired our other players.”

And in the spirit of giving Singapore Pools’ staff the opportunity to participate in the tournament, Tay said he would not be fielding either of those two players for the fourth leg, which will be held at Seletar County Club on Apr 26. Taking their place will be Lee How Sheng and Francis Wan.

The biggest shock of the third leg was the below-par performance by former leaders Singapore Global Trust.

The team, despite fielding women’s national player Chen Xing Tong, who again won the Longest Drive honours with 250 metres, could manage only a total of 85 points – the lowest among all the participants.

After taking the opening-leg lead with a commanding 12 points, Team Boss dropped to fifth with a total of just 80 points from their three leading players.

But spurred on by national players Denise and Jaymie Ng (total 70 points) from the Singapore Sports School, and a decent contribution from Angelina Xiong (34 points), they made a big leap in the overall standings.

The Ng sisters will be retained for the Seletar leg, joining up with Lianne Fones and Nina Un.

Allen Ong (handicap index 6) was the individual champion in the social category with a 73 score for 41 points, while Paragon won the team event. Paragon were led by Aaron Teo and Tony Mallek with 37 points each, while Susan Leng contributed 33 points.