Jeneath Wong first Malaysian to win WAAP, tame finish for Indian golf trio
Da Nang (Vietnam), March 9 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Jeneath Wong, who moved to Australia when she was ten years old and now plays at Pepperdine University in college golf in the United States, became the first Malaysian to win the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship (WAAP).
She turned in a superb finish which included a clutch par putt on the 16th, a perfect tee shot to within six inches on the 17th and a great pitch for a 8-foot birdie on the 18th for a round of 68.
Wong, who now gets to play three Women’s Majors and a host of other iconic events, totalled 18-under, and won by one shot over Korea’s Soomin Oh (66), who made a great charge with a bogey free 66, but fell short by in the face of a nerveless finish from Wong.
Wong finished 18th in her only previous experience in 2022, when she also had a hole in one on the second day. In the final round here in Vietnam, she almost had another one on the Par-3 17th, when her tee shot came inside six inches.
Meanwhile, it was a tame finish for the Indian trio, which had made the halfway cut. Saanvi Somu was the best at Tied-38th, while the 14-year-old Guntas Kaur Sandhu was 47th and Mannat Brar was 48th.
Saanvi, who made the cut for the second year running, shot her second straight 1-under par 70 and finished as the best Indian at Tied-38th. With rounds of 72-74-70-70 she totalled 2-over for the week.
The 14-year-old debutant Guntas, who impressed by becoming the youngest Indian to make the cut at WAAP, had a tough final round with a 7-over 78 and was 9-over to finish 47th. Her aggressive and some good putting helped her pick up 14 birdies, the most among the Indians, but she was held back by lack of experience of playing in strong windy conditions.
Mannat, who made the cut after three unsuccessful attempts, had a very rough day when things just did not go her way. She shot 78 and with cards of 67-76-73-78 she finished at 10-over and in 48th place.
Three Koreans finished in Top-four as Sumin Hong (68) was sole third while another Korean Yunseo Yang (66) and Australian Jazy Roberts (66) were tied fourth.
The 2026 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship will be held in Wellington, New Zealand.
