By Jonathan Ponniah
Malaysia’s rising young star Natasha Andrea Oon attributes her recent run of impressive performances on the Epson Tour to a growing acclimatisation to life as a professional golfer.
The 21-year-old has chalked up three top-10 finishes in four starts this year, coming close to winning her first pro title in the last two events with consecutive runner-up finishes. In her most recent tournament, the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic in early April, Oon shot a superb closing 66 to finish one shot behind winner Gigi Stoll of the United States.
“I think it’s just getting used to things; you don’t really know professional life until you’re out there. I’ve been trying to prioritise having a routine, because everything’s always changing – the environments, the people around you, everything is changing, so something must be stable,” said Oon, who turned professional in June last year after a standout collegiate golf career with San Jose State University.
Natasha Oon of Malaysia. Photo: Natasha Oon
“I think what’s going well for me is just being able to learn. And honestly, those good results have just been a product of every experience I’ve ever had with golf. It’s just been a great learning experience out there,” she added.
The Epson Tour is the official qualifying circuit for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. Oon’s fine form and strong results have vaulted her up to second place on the tour’s Race For The Card season rankings with US$46,077 in prizemoney, giving her a solid start in her quest to end the year as one of the 10 players to earn LPGA cards for 2024.
Since the start of the year, Oon has climbed more than 400 rungs up the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings into 407th position in the latest standings. Current Malaysian number one Kelly Tan is in 236th spot.
However, Oon stressed that her main aim this year is to get fully in sync with life on tour.
“For me, it’s just a product of everything, just learning and working hard. And if it doesn’t happen, I’m going to be fine. As I’ve always said, my goal this year is to just get it down, get the professional life down, and how I manage myself out there.
“If I feel like I’ve been fully committed and done a good job of handling myself out there, then that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” she shared.
While her college golf schedule was hectic, Oon noted that there is much more stress playing as a professional. Her next tournament is the Epson Tour’s US$230,000 Copper Rock Championship in Hurricane, Utah, which starts on Thursday.
“It’s the lifestyle. It’s so hard on the body, you know, playing week out week in, and just traveling, driving for hours on end. And you still have to try to make sure that you’re out there giving it 100% on course. When you’re a college golfer, people were planning it for you, but now it’s a whole different ballgame.
“Obviously, there’s the cut line. Sometimes we did play with a cut as amateurs, but now that it’s money and your livelihood, you have to learn how to manage that. You just can’t let it define how you’re going to approach your game,” explained Oon.
Being a chatty person by nature, Oon enjoys meeting new people as she travels from tournament to tournament. “It’s taught me a lot. We often stay at host housing and I really enjoy that. It’s like having weekly families and they really treat you like their daughter. I enjoy meeting people and learning about their stories.”
Having played as an amateur in the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia in 2016 and 2017 when she finished 74th and 67th respectively, Oon is thrilled that the LPGA will be returning to Malaysia after a five-year lapse when the US$3 million Maybank Championship tees off at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club this October 26-29.
“I’m super, super happy that the LPGA is back. I don’t even know if I’m playing in it yet, but hopefully I will. It’ll be such an honour to play in front of my fellow Malaysians and in front of my family again. You know, it’s going to be a full circle moment for me.
“Maybank showing their support for women’s golf and seeing that women’s golf is a channel for them to build their brand, I think that’s an amazing thing,” Oon enthused.
Oon was also part of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia Development Programme, a holistic training programme for promising young female golfers geared towards them peaking for the championship qualifiers.
“I don’t think many girls had fully scheduled training then, having things planned out morning till night. So, it was great for me to understand and get used to day-to-day training. And I remember winning the qualifier in 2017 – that was just such a core memory that you bring with you through your career. It was a stepping stone to something bigger, for sure,” she noted.
“Hopefully, more girls will see Kelly Tan showcasing her talent and realise that, hey, here’s the Malaysian who made it on the LPGA Tour and is doing so well. Endless possibilities for sure.”
If Oon keeps playing the way she is now, the possibilities are endless for her.
