Five Malaysian golfers will carry national pride into the US$3 million Maybank Championship starting Thursday at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club’s West Course. Kelly Tan, Ashley Lau, Mirabel Ting, Liyana Durisic, and Genevieve Ling will compete on home soil in front of family, friends, and fervent local fans.
For seasoned LPGA campaigner Kelly Tan, the week is pure privilege. “Always an honour to represent Malaysia,” she said. “It’s just a lot of fun to be able to do what you love and represent your country playing at home soil, playing in front of family and friends, Malaysian fans. I think Malaysia has really good golf fans. They’re all very excited.”
Ashley Lau, who rarely sees family travel to the U.S., echoed the sentiment. “The U.S. is very far. My family doesn’t go out there to watch me play. It’s nice to have them watching me play here,” she said.
Rookie pro Mirabel Ting, fresh from Florida State and capping off an impressive week at the LPGA Qualifying Series’ Qualifying Stage on the Bobcat Course at Plantation Golf & Country Club, where she shared co-medallist honours with Japan’s Kokona Sakurai, will have her mother in the gallery for the first time in years. “Knowing my mom is coming here this week, it’s pretty exciting,” she said.
Liyana Durisic, returning after last year’s debut, brings momentum from a recent domestic victory at The Ladies Tournament at the Mines Resort & Golf Club. “Last year I was trying too hard, doing too much, putting too much pressure on myself,” she reflected. “This week, coming from Ladies, I should be able to handle myself much better.”
Rookie Genevieve Ling, who trains regularly and serves as an ambassador for KLGCC, sees the pristine conditions as her playground. “I play out here and practice out here, so I kind of know what I can do,” she said. “It’s almost like me controlling myself because I know how I can go out there with great conditions.”
On the West Course’s demands, consensus was swift: precision everywhere. “You kind of have to drive the ball well and hit the second shot well and chip and putt well,” Tan declared. “It’s a well-rounded golf course.”
Ting added, “Definitely hitting the fairways, hitting the greens, waiting for putts to drop.”
Lau stressed mental resilience: “Staying patient… dealing with pressure a little bit better.”
Preparation has been measured and mindful, with the quintet wary of overdoing it ahead of their home showcase.
Ting leaned on her coach to build lasting confidence. “Having to play well at Stage II (LPGA Q-School) gives me confidence for this week’s game,” she said. “But I’m trying not to get so ahead of myself and trying to stay patient… I’m just trying to get out there and play golf and enjoy myself this week.”
Lau dissected her season stats to target weaknesses but drew a firm line. “I try not to do too much. I know when a big week comes, we try to do too much and then we get burned out really quickly,” she cautioned.
Ling plans on keeping it simple. “We all really want to do well, so there is enough pressure coming from ourselves. For me, it’s really just trying to do as little as I can. We know how to play golf. We just got to keep ourselves in the right state of mind, calm out there, hang out with family, try not to think too much about the golf, and just let the result show itself.”
Tan will treat the week like any other. “My prep has years long… when a big week comes, we think we need to do more, but there is a reason why we are there, and I think we just need to do what’s best for ourselves,” she said.
Durisic zeroed in on the slick greens. “I’ve been focusing on my short game a lot this week… and just trying to take it easy this week and not put too much pressure on myself and just have fun,” she added, bolstered by recent mental coaching.
