Malaysia’s Natasha Andrea Oon continued her meteoric rise in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, breaking into the top 300 for the first time following her runner-up finish at the Epson Tour’s Twin Bridges Championship on Sunday.
Starting the year in 821st spot, Oon has raced up the rankings with a string of fine performances on the Epson Tour to reach a career-high 282nd position. The 21-year-old talent surpassed Kelly Tan as top Malaysian last week and retains that honour, with Tan currently in 333rd spot.
In the Twin Bridges Championship at Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland, New York, Oon was seven shots adrift of leader Jenny Bae of the United States entering the third and final round. The Malaysian caught fire on the back nine and nailed five birdies on the home stretch, including the last two holes, to card a closing 66 and catch fellow tour rookie Bae who signed off with a 73.
In the ensuing playoff, Bae prevailed after five tense extra holes to seal her second Epson Tour victory in a row.
“I learned a lot from this experience. I’m just really grateful to be in this position and am hopeful that I will be able to pull through one day,” said Oon.
“I wasn’t even thinking about winning coming into today and then I just started to make birdies and things just started going my way. I’m just grateful,” added the San Jose State University alumni, who turned professional in June last year.
Oon has now chalked up seven top-10 finishes including an amazing four runner-up performances in 13 starts this year on the Epson Tour. She missed the cut just once.
The US$18,834 runner-up cheque from the Twin Bridges event took Oon’s season earnings to US$104,264, consolidating second spot on the Epson Tour’s Race for the Card rankings and narrowing the gap with leader Gabriela Ruffels of Australia who remains top with US$109,860. American Gigi Stoll is a distant third with US$68,614.
The Epson Tour is the official qualifying circuit for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, where the top 10 players following the season-ending Epson Tour Championship in October will earn coveted LPGA Tour cards for 2024.
The next best-placed Malaysian in the Race for the Card standings is Alyaa Abdulghany in 16th position with US$43,110. Compatriot Ashley Lau is 120th with US$4,369.
The Epson Tour takes a break this week and resumes with the US$335,000 French Lick Charity Classic at The Pete Dye Course at French Lick in Indiana on August 3-6, which will be the 14th of 22 events on the tour’s 2023 schedule.
Malaysians on Rolex Rankings (as of July 24, 2023)
| Position | Player | Average Points |
| 282 | NATASHA OON | 0.40 |
| 333 | KELLY TAN | 0.33 |
| 516 | ALYAA ABDULGHANY 0.16 | |
| 935 | GENEVIEVE LING | 0.03 |
| 992 | ASHLEY LAU | 0.02 |
| 1307 | JOCELYN CHEE | 0.01 |
