Ashley Lau carded a second successive three-under-par 69 to be the best-placed Malaysian in T5 position at the halfway stage of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship (WAAP).
The University of Michigan senior is tied on six-under-par with Australia’s Cassie Porter (69-69) and Koreans Youmin Hwang (69-69) and Jeonghyun Lee (70-68), four shots behind leader Natthakritta Vongtaveelap of Thailand (66-68) at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
In joint second place on eight-under-par are Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto (68-68) and Australian Kelsey Bennett (69-67). India’s Anika Varma (69-68), one of only two players in the field not to drop a shot in the first 36 holes, is in solo fourth place on seven-under-par.
Malaysia’s top amateur Natasha Andrea Oon carded a solid 70 to add to her opening 69, occupying T9 spot on five-under-par. Liyana Durisic (T32, 73-71), Winnie Ng (T37, 72-73) and Ashley Tan (T44, 69-77) were the other Malaysians who made the cut of two-over-par. Teenager Foong Zi Yu however failed to make it after rounds of 75 and 78.
It was an excellent day for the Thai players with Kan Bunnabodee firing an eight-under-par 64 to move into the top-ten and equal the lowest round in WAAP history, first set by Becky Kay of Australia during the first round of the 2019 edition played at the Royal Golf Club in Japan.
51 players from 12 countries made it through to the final two rounds from the total of 78 players from 16 nations who started. The champion earns a place in two major championships – the AIG Women’s Open and The Amundi Evian Championship – as well as the Hana Financial Group Championship and an invitation to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
The inaugural WAAP at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore in 2018 was won by Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, who was the number one player on the Ladies European Tour this season, while the second edition saw Japan’s Yuka Yasuda triumphing on home soil in 2019. The championship was developed by The R&A and APGC to unearth emerging talent and provide a pathway for Asia’s elite women amateurs to the international stage.
The WAAP is supported by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Hana Financial Group, Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings, Rolex, Samsung and Trust Golf.
For more information, visit the website at randa.org/WAAP.
