Jeneath Wong (R) and dad Kenneth at Hole 18, Pebble Beach
Jeneath Wong may have missed out on the weekend at the 78th U.S. Women’s Open Championship, but Malaysia’s top lady amateur was still upbeat about her maiden Major experience.
The 18-year-old talent carded rounds of 79 and 74 in challenging and occasionally brutal conditions at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links in California for a nine-over-par 153 total, missing the halfway cut by three shots.
“It was an unforgettable experience playing in my first Major. The atmosphere at Pebble Beach was amazing with unbelievable crowds, and the organisation was superb,” said Wong, who is coming off a successful freshman year at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Wong described her Major debut on one of the world’s most famous golf courses as an enjoyable learning experience. “I really enjoyed myself out there and learnt a lot, like how to shape shots in the wind as well as how to hit longer clubs more accurately.
“The golf course played really tough. The main challenges were the distance, strong winds and the small greens. It was like hybrid, 7-wood or even 3-wood for me for my approach shots, with the wind blowing towards the cliffs and ocean,” she elaborated.
Wong was unfortunate not to progress to the final 36 holes. Starting off the 10th tee in Round 2, she made four birdies over the first seven holes of her second nine to get within the projected cut-line of six-over-par. However, a quadruple bogey at Pebble Beach’s tough, par-four eighth hole ended her hopes.
“I was actually going really well until the eighth hole, which is ranked the hardest on the course. You have to lay up your tee shot before the cliff, which I did with my hybrid and was left with around 196 metres to the pin,” Wong said.
“I thought my second shot had ended up in the right bunker. But when I got there, the ball was down on the cliff slope and was impossible to hit – I couldn’t even stand!
“I decided to go back to the drop zone, which meant I had to carry the cliff again. I then had a really tough downhill chip and that went off the green. I finally got on and two-putted,” she explained.
Despite the misadventure, Wong finished above notable players such as former world number one Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand (+10) and world amateur number two Saki Baba of Japan (+12). This was the first time that Pebble Beach has hosted a women’s Major.
Following a short break, Wong will have a busy spell starting with the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club in Colorado on July 17 – 22 She will then head north for the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Ashburn Golf Club in Nova Scotia on August 1-4, before returning to California for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles on August 7-13.
Currently ranked 51st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Wong enjoyed an impressive first collegiate season with the Pepperdine Waves women’s golf team. She amassed a 72.72 season scoring average to break the previous freshman record of 73.22 set by Danielle Kang in 2009-10.
