Malaysia’s Mirabel Ting may be missing home but the Australia-based teenager continues to bump up to her golfing CV with some superb performances Down Under.
Most recently, Mirabel chalked up an impressive runner-up finish in the prestigious Queensland Amateur Championship which ended on Friday at the Arundel Hills Golf Club.
Mirabel, who turns 15 on September 23, made a fight of it in the final against Japanese-Australian Lion Higo. The Malaysian lass was four up after four holes and retained that advantage through eight, but Higo fought back to take the lead at the 15th hole and won the match 3&1 with a long-range birdie putt at the 17th.
Mirabel’s runner-up finish continued her fine record in the Category C World Amateur Golf Ranking tournament, having won the strokeplay event in 2019 before before bowing out in the matchplay quarterfinals. This time around, she finished T5 in the 72-hole strokeplay to make it to the matchplay knockouts, where she beat Kate McFarlane 1-up in the round of 16, Sarah Wilson 4&3 in the quarterfinals and Sarah Hammett 5&4 in the semifinals.
“I’m really happy with my performance this time in the matchplay but not really in the strokeplay. The best thing about playing in the Queensland Amateur is that I’m competing with top players from around Australia and I get to learn a lot from them,” said Mirabel, who is in her second year at the Hills Golf Academy in Queensland.
Mirabel noted that she is able to spend more time on her training and academics due to the Covid-19 restrictions. “I have more time to balance my studies with my golf practice because I’m not allow to go out and do stuff like shopping! It also gives me time to do extra workouts in my room,” she shared.
However, Mirabel lamented that she misses home, which is Miri in Sarawak. “The last I went home was in January 2020. I’m hoping to go back as soon as possible. I hope some miracle would happen and allow me to travel home by the end of the year.”
Thankfully, Mirabel’s elder brother Malcolm is also based at the Hills Golf Academy. “We spend a lot of time together when we are training. He caddied for me in the first round and quarterfinals of the Queensland Amateur and I won both matches! It was a good partnership as he knows me a lot better than other people, because he is my brother and we grew up together!”
Malcolm took part in the Queensland Amateur men’s event, finishing T21 in strokeplay and thus missing out on the matchplay stage. He had livened up the first round by scoring a hole-in-one at the 16th hole en route to a superb 67.
