Barely a month into her campaign on the Women’s All Pro Tour (WAPT) in the United States, Malaysia’s Genevieve Ling is slowly but surely getting into the swing of things.
Following a missed cut on debut at the Mackie Construction Abilene Open in early April, the 26-year-old turned in an improved performance in her subsequent start at last week’s Wichita Falls Championship where she finished T45 after rounds of 74, 80 and 74. Both tournaments were staged in Texas.
“There’s a lot of difference between golf in Malaysia and golf in the US. The weather, the conditions, the wind … the list goes on. I’m getting used to the conditions now and, whether I make cuts or not, I’ve been having a great time just playing tournament golf again.
“Of course, I’m hoping for some better results soon!” said Genevieve, who crowd-funded herself to the WAPT which is a feeder tour for the LPGA’s secondary circuit, the Symetra Tour.
Having played on regional circuits such as the Taiwan LPGA Tour and China LPGA Tour, Genevieve noted that the WAPT is really well run.
“The owner of the tour, Gary DeSerrano, is very hands on. He’s there at every event and he helps out as well. Katie Markham, our tournament director, is doing a great job too. Overall, I think they’ve got a really good set-up here,” she said.
Genevieve added that the standard of play on the WAPT is quite high despite it being a third tier tour. “I don’t know most of the players, but from what I’ve heard and those I’ve played with, most have been on the Symetra Tour and maybe even some on the LPGA Tour, so it’s safe to say they are experienced players. Many of them played college golf for big schools as well.”
Despite it being spring, the weather has been a challenge with unusually low temperatures and rain.
“It’s been cold – the low since I’ve been here was probably two degrees – and windy, and we’ve also had rain, so I’ve kind of experienced all sorts of weather since I’ve been here! But like I said, I’ve enjoyed it because this is what tournament golf is like,” said Genevieve.
Being able to compete regularly again is something that Genevieve really appreciates.
“It feels amazing to compete again. Nothing beats tournament golf because this is what I live for and why I train so hard every day! It’s great to go out there and see it pay some dividends and also see where I need to improve,” stressed Genevieve, who had played in only two tournaments from early 2020 up to when she left for the USA.
“It’s also great in general just to get into competitive mode again, because that’s something that’s very hard to do without tournaments. I would almost say that it’s impossible to really duplicate a tournament ‘feel’ without actual tournaments, so nothing beats the real-life experience of doing this day to day, week to week,” she added.
With no event this week, Genevieve is gearing up for her next start at the Hot Springs Championship in Arkansas. The WAPT’s summer swing is played mainly in Texas, with a few events in Arkansas and Mississippi.
“We’re going to Arkansas next, so it’s going to be different. I think it might be more similar to Malaysia in terms of the courses as they will be more tree-lined and not as open and windy as in Texas,” she said.
“My goal is to play as much as I can and get that tournament ‘time’ under my belt so that I can bring it forward to my main goal, which is the LPGA qualifying school and do well there,” added Genevieve, whose only other attempt at LPGA qualifying was in 2017 when she made it to the second stage.
The top five players on the WAPT ‘Race 2 Stage II’ season rankings gain exemptions into Stage II of LPGA qualifying school this October at Plantation Golf & Country Club in Venice, Florida. Additionally, each WAPT tournament awards the top two finishers with starts into a subsequent Symetra Tour event.
The Race 2 Stage II concludes with the Babe Zaharias Open at Beaumont Country Club in late July, just two weeks before the first stage of LPGA qualifying at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California.
