Malaysia’s Genevieve Ling’s strategic approach to the game proved fruitful as she posted an even par round 72 in the first round of the inaugural Singapore Ladies Masters on Thursday. Despite dropping four shots, she managed to offset them with four birdies.
“Initially, my shots were landing close to the greens, but my putts were not finding the hole. My short game has always been my forte. I grasped the course strategy well, but I simply needed to convert my putts into birdies,” explained the 28-year-old, who currently shares the 24th position with 10 golfers.
Aretha Pan
Meanwhile, Aretha Pan, who carded a one-over 73, secured four birdies but also had to contend with five bogeys, earning her a tied 35th spot. “The course seemed tighter today compared to the practice day, and during the last few holes, the wind behaved rather unpredictably. Judging the wind became challenging,” she remarked.
This course allows players to take aim at the greens. Although pleased with her performance today, Pan expressed some dissatisfaction with her putting. However, she began to find her rhythm in the back nine, sinking long 15-16 feet birdie putts on the 13th, 16th, and 17th holes. Pan recently switched to her new PING set, the i230 irons, and was still adjusting to the PLD putter, but she managed to capitalise on it during the final stretch, resulting in the birdies. The 29 Pan recently signed with PING earlier this year.
The third Malaysian contender in the tournament, Lana Aswadi, did not have a good outing today. Her performance at the Laguna National’s Masters Course was subpar, as she recorded a score of 10-over 82, placing her at 126th position. Aswadi attributed her poor performance to mental reasons. The 20-year-old from Terengganu had a challenging day, marked by triple and double bogeys.
A rookie professional who turned pro in 2022, Aswadi intends to return to Malaysia and participate in the Q School on the Toyota Tour, as well as the Trust Golf Tour in Thailand in September.
The Singapore Ladies Masters is a 54-hole stroke-play format that features an international field of 132 players from 14 countries and regions, battling for the total prize purse of US$100,000.
It is the fifth leg of the 2023 CLPGA season after stops in Tianjin, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.
