Defending champion Jeneath Wong opened with a 72 at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, trailing leader Yang Yunseo by eight shots in New Zealand.
DEFENDING champion Jeneath Wong of Malaysia opened her Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) title defence with an even-par 72 on Thursday. The round left her eight shots adrift of first-round leader Yang Yunseo of Korea, who fired a flawless bogey-free 64.
The 21-year-old Malaysian made a blistering start at Royal Wellington Golf Club with four birdies in her opening six holes. Her momentum stalled around the turn, however, as she dropped four shots over a five-hole stretch.
“I was picking up momentum (at the start). My approach shots were pretty close. I guess three, four feet; that’s how I got the four birdies,” Wong said. “Then towards the back nine, I had three bogeys in a row. I think the wind picked up a bit, but I still managed to get all par for that.”
Fellow Malaysian Charlayne Chong Shin Ling carded a solid one-under 71 to sit in a share of 17th place. Other Malaysian scores included a 73 for Foong Zi Yu, a 78 for Nur Diana Syafiqah Abdullah and an 86 for Nur Maisara Sa’ad.
The 18-year-old Yang leads the prestigious championship by one stroke over Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau. Another Korean, Park Seojin, opened with a 67 for solo third place.
Wong, a senior at Pepperdine University in the US, remained upbeat about her chances to climb the leaderboard. “I still feel I can do better in the coming days, so I’ll try my best,” she said.
She acknowledged the need to better navigate Royal Wellington’s challenging, swirling winds. “I grew up in Melbourne so the wind is pretty strong there. But Wellington, the winds really just swirl around so makes it a bit harder to decide which club, if it’s into the wind or downwind.”
Yang, making her second WAAP start after a tied-fourth finish last year, was surprised by her low round. “I didn’t know if I would be able to shoot this kind of score,” she said. “Some short birdie putts dropped, which helped.”
The WAAP champion earns exemptions into three major championships in 2026: the AIG Women’s Open, The Amundi Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship.
The Sun Malaysia
