Malaysia’s Alyaa Abdulghany will make her maiden LPGA start in this week’s Cambia Portland Classic, which begins on Thursday, September 16, at The Oregon Golf Club.
Turning professional earlier this week, the talented 22-year-old earned her spot in the US$1.4 million event by winning the Monday qualifier with a round of 71 at the tournament venue.
Also in the field is Malaysian No 1 Kelly Tan, who returns to action for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics in early August where she closed with a superb 64 for a T34 finish.
Alyaa concluded a standout US collegiate career with the University of Southern California in May. Since then, she has been playing in a few professional events on the lower-tier circuits as an amateur, mustering some impressive performances. Last year, Alyaa made history last year by becoming the first Malaysian to reach the semifinals of the US Women’s Amateur where she bowed out 2& 1 to eventual winner Rose Zhang.
Alyaa starts her campaign at 8.50am on Thursday (Malaysian time 11.50pm), playing with Cheyenne Woods of the USA and Korea’s Yujeong Son.
Kelly meanwhile has a 12.11pm tee-off time (Malaysian time 3.11am, Friday, September 17) with American Kristen Gillman and Dani Holmqvist of Sweden.
The tournament will be broadcast ‘live’ on Astro’s Golf Channel HD (Channel 822).
