Malaysia’s top lady amateur Alyaa Abdulghany hopes to build on the momentum from her impressive T5 finish in the recent Energy Producers, Inc. Texas Women’s Open, a tournament run by the Northern Texas PGA featuring a 156-player field consisting of professionals and elite amateurs.
The talented 22-year-old carded rounds of 70, 69 and 71 to finish on six-under-par at the Firewheel Golf Park in Garland, Texas, five shots behind winner Kenzie Wright of the USA. Australia’s Grace Kim took top amateur honours, edging American Brooke Matthews in a playoff after the duo finished 54 holes tied for third place on seven-under-par.
“I’m extremely happy with the way I played. I haven’t been performing to my standards in the last few events, but I’m happy we found the right momentum in Texas and I hope to keep it going,” said Alyaa.
“I’ve played plenty of professional events as an amateur before, my first was in 2015. So this wasn’t new for me,” she added.
Alyaa concluded a glittering US collegiate career with the University of Southern California ‘Trojans’ with a T36 finish in last month’s NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. She made history last year by becoming the first Malaysian to reach the semifinals of the US Women’s Amateur, where she bowed out 2& 1 to eventual winner Rose Zhang.
While she does not plan to turn professional until after this year’s US Women’s Amateur in August, Alyaa will continue to play in selected professional events.
“My next event is a WAPT (Women’s All Pro Tour) event out in Texas again,” said Alyaa, referring to the Kathy Whitworth Paris Championship on June 15-18.
With Malaysia currently in a lockdown due to a surge in Covid-19 cases, Alyaa voiced her hope that everyone will register for vaccination.
“I hope everyone is safe and healthy in Malaysia. Please, if you have the chance to take the vaccine, do so not only to protect yourself but friends and family around you too. And the sooner you get it, the sooner we can all go back to normal,” shared Alyaa, who has been living in the USA with her family since she was six years old.
The other Malaysian in the Texas Women’s Open field, professional Genevieve Ling, narrowly missed the cut by one shot.
