Malaysia’s Ashley Lau will head into the final round of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship in T4 position on 10-under-par, five shots behind leader Natthakritta Vongtaveelap of Thailand.
Ashley carded a third round 68 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to add to her earlier successive 69s and has an outside chance of challenging for the title. Compatriot Natasha Andrea Oon lies T10 on seven-under-par after rounds of 69, 70 and 70. The three other Malaysians who made the halfway cut, Liyana Durisic, Winnie Ng and Audrey Tan, are in T30 (even par), T36 (+2) and T41 (+3) positions respectively.
Vongtaveelap meanwhile opened up a three-shot lead following a sensational birdie-eagle finish for a third round 67 and a total of 15-under-par. Japan’s Mizuki Hashimoto carded 68 to lie second on 12-under-par, one clear of Australia’s Kelsey Bennett (69).
“I am so happy and excited about the finish. It was perfect. The last seven shots were exactly how I wanted to hit them,” said Vongtaveelap, who has 19 wins and eight runner-up finishes in domestic events in the last two-year cycle of World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) events.
“I’ve come here thinking I want to win the championship. So this is a good way to go into the final round. But I know I need to play well as there are many good players in the field.”
The WAAP 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 championship at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore in 2018 was won by Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, 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. This year’s WAAP is supported by Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Hana Financial Group, Nippon Kabaya Ohayo Holdings, Rolex, Samsung and Trust Golf.
For more information, visit randa.org/WAAP.
