Grace Kim of Australia
As the US$3 million Maybank Championship tees off Thursday at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, three compelling voices revealed the mental grit and physical endurance needed to conquer Malaysia’s stifling heat and demanding layout.
Fresh from captaining Australia to International Crown glory, Grace Kim returns to KLGCC with the same strategic mindset that powered her Evian major triumph earlier this season.
“We are all prepared mentally and physically for the heat,” Kim said. “As much as we are trying to get to know the course once again, we are also trying to conserve our energy as much as we can for the tournament days. So just trying to be smart about how I go about this week.”
The 26-year-old described last week’s International Crown as a “rollercoaster” capped by a victory that tasted extra sweet. “Yes, we were pretty happy to beat the Americans,” she admitted with a grin.
Kim pinpointed fairway accuracy and bermudagrass green-reading as her edge this week. “I tend to hit a lot of fairways, which is nice. The rough is up, so it’s quite thick, just keeping it in play, making sure when the tees are up, they’re gettable holes, but making sure you do hit it straight and also not in the water or in the rough.”
Lydia Ko of New Zealand
Lydia Ko arrives in Kuala Lumpur carrying quiet confidence from last week’s International Crown, where her ball-striking stayed solid even as the putts refused to drop, until Sunday.
“Last week, for the most part, I hit the ball pretty solid. You know, I really didn’t make many putts. The only day I really made putts was the last round on Sunday,” said Lydia, who is returning to Malaysia for the first time since 2023. “So hopefully that gives me a little bit more confidence and momentum going into this week.”
The switch from New Korea’s bent grass to KLGCC’s Bermuda grass demands adjustment, but familiarity helps. “I’ve seen this golf course before, so it’s not a completely new golf course that I’m just purely having to get adjusted to in a short amount of time,” Ko noted.
“You have to hit it really well, and just when you see a lot of birdies, obviously, you have to putt well, but you’re setting up a lot of birdie opportunities. So I think that’s what I got to do well, too.”
When asked what keeps her mentally sharp through a bad hole or round, Ko revealed a maturity forged over 15 LPGA wins and countless comebacks. “I think I’m at a point in my career where I feel like I don’t really have to prove anything to anybody else,” she said. “I’ve overcome a lot of my own lows as well, and that’s something that I’m very proud of.”
Now, struggle sparks curiosity rather than frustration. “If I’m not playing well, you know, I’ll try new things or try and feel different things to kind of see if those things help. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t,” she explained. “I feel like this year, especially, I’ve been able to grow and learn more about myself and my game. I think that’s probably a big motivation, to know that I’m still continuously learning.”
For Ko, the grind is universal. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the No. 1-ranked player in the world or the last person in the field, there is always room for improvement,” she said. “That’s why a lot of players are out there grinding every day, because there is always that room for improvement. So, yeah, just the motivation of knowing like how much I can keep excelling and see where that takes me.”
Miyu Yamashita of Japan
Miyu Yamashita, making her Maybank debut, arrives buoyed by Japan’s semifinal run at the International Crown. “We communicated well and so turned out to be a good week,” the 23-year-old said of the team effort. Surveying KLGCC for the first time, she zeroed in on the layout’s demands: “The tee shot is a little bit narrow, so I think it’s the key to play… also I think the second shot is the key to play.”
Yamashita attributes Japan’s current LPGA surge to the tricky home circuits that hone adaptability. “The courses in Japan are quite tricky, so that’s why, like our team play, we have to adapt to the course and the LPGA as well,” she explained. “I think I may be Japanese players play in the major championship as well, so that’s why we can adapt on the LPGA course.”
