KLGCC West Course – Hole 16 (Photo by KLGCC)
LPGA Tour player Kelly Tan believes that Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club’s West Course will furnish a fitting challenge for the world’s top players when they tee up at the US$3 million Maybank Championship later this month.
“The West Course is challenging in many ways, from off the tee to the second shots into the greens and also around the greens. It can be set up pretty long for us girls, and the undulating fairways and tricky greens are going to be a real test,” said the Malaysian.
“I think the biggest thing for players and caddies to be aware of is to drink lots of electrolytes, as the West Course is not an easy walk,” added the 29-year-old, who was appointed as Maybank’s ASEAN ambassador in April this year.
The Maybank Championship marks the return of the LPGA Tour, which is the world’s premier ladies golf circuit, to Malaysia after six years. The last LPGA Tour event to be held here was the 2017 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, won by American Cristie Kerr at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club’s East Course with a 15-under-par total.
Tan noted that that accuracy and strategy will be paramount at the West Course, which has hosted numerous men’s professional events including the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2006 and from 2010 to 2015.
“You definitely have to find the fairways to score as the rough can get jumpy at times. You also need to hit high quality shots into the greens to put yourself on the correct side of the hole. Your wedges must be sharp as there are a few short par-fours,” stressed Tan.
Originally designed by Nelson & Haworth Golf Course Architects, the West Course opened for play in 1991 and over the years has established itself as one of the top championship layouts in the country. The course underwent a major redesign in 2007/2008, undertaken by Parslow & Winter Golf Design, and was given a second revamp in 2018.
Playing just over 7,000 yards from the tips, the par-72 layout furnishes a memorable experience with its undulating fairways, strategic water hazards, hilly terrain and deceptive greens which are well-guarded by bunkers and hollows.
Tan singled out Holes 14 and 16, both short dogleg left par-fours, as interesting holes to watch come tournament week. “They are both good risk and reward holes, and it will be exciting for spectators to watch if the tees get moved up to make them driveable.”
Over the course of her professional career, Tan has set a host of benchmarks for Malaysian golf including best performance in a Major with a joint 13th place finish at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. In 2020, she achieved a career-high 37th position on the LPGA Tour’s Race to the CME Globe season standings.
Tan’s best finish this season came at the two-player team Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in July, when she teamed up with Finland’s Matilda Castren to claim sole second place with a 22-under-par 258 total – just one shot behind winners Cheyenne Knight and Elizabeth Szokol of the United States.
The 2023 Maybank Championship takes place on October 26-29 and will feature a glittering array of stars from the LPGA Tour, including Chinese sensation Ruoning Yin, Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, France’s Céline Boutier, Canada’s Brooke Henderson, Korean Jin Young Ko, and Americans Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz.
The six-strong Malaysian challenge will be shouldered by Tan, Natasha Andrea Oon, Alyaa Abdulghany and Ashley Lau, and two amateurs in 2023 Southeast Asian Games gold medallist Ng Jing Xuen and Pepperdine University sophomore Jeneath Wong.
