Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Winnie Ng gave herself an early birthday present with an exciting comeback victory at the 38th Templer Park Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open.
Two shots off the pace heading into the third and final round under overcast skies, Malaysian Ng lit up the fairways of Templer Park Country Club with a three-under-par 69. She nailed five birdies, including two crucial long putts on holes 15 and 16, against two bogeys for a 54-hole total of two-under 214 (71, 74, 69). That was good enough for a two-shot victory over Singapore’s Aloysa Atienza (73, 71, 72).
“The putts dropped today! Yesterday, it was really hard to see the line and that was testing my patience. Today, I just told myself, if it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn't, it's fine. As long as I give my best and get the ball going towards the hole, I'll at least have a chance,” said Ng, who turns 23 on July 19.
Malaysia’s rising teenage talent and defending champion Ng Jing Xuen, the 2023 Southeast Asian Games individual gold medallist, was third on one-over 217 (74, 71, 72). China’s Liu Yingyuan (75, 75, 70) shared fourth place on four-over 220 with another Malaysian, second round leader Pang Hee Jie (70, 73, 77).
Ng recently returned to Malaysia following five years competing on the American collegiate circuit, first as a member of the University of Washington Huskies women’s golf team (2019-2023), then as a graduate student with the University of Missouri Tigers. She has been in fine form recently, finishing runner-up at the Vietnam Ladies Amateur Open a few weeks ago. Prior to that, she tied 16th at the Singapore Ladies Masters, a China LPGA Tour professional event.
“Before this, I played in four events and was in contention. I just needed a little bit more luck and perseverance. I think this week showed me that, no matter how hard it is, if you keep on pushing and not give up, something might take a turn. You never know if you're going to win or not,” she noted.
Ng was elated at finally winning her national ladies amateur Open, organised by the Malaysian Ladies Golf Association, in what was her seventh attempt. She first competed in the event as a 10-year-old in 2011 and has enjoyed a fair measure of success over the years, with her previous best finish being tied fourth in 2019 at Resorts World Awana.
“I've dreamt about this moment. I first played in this event when I was 10, and I'm now 23! It's been more than a decade and it just feels good to have my name on the trophy,” said Ng, who competed in two Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championships (2018 and 2021) and the 2017 APGC Junior Championships.
Ng credited training stints at Tanjong Puteri Golf Resort in Johor as being crucial to her win. “I'm very grateful that in between tournaments I went to Tanjong Puteri, where coach Jean Daniels allowed me to practice and play. I felt like the training there helped a lot.”
The championship also saw mid-amateur and senior categories played over 36 holes, as well as a concurrent team event. Malaysia’s Khairun Hanisah Azlan Hanif won the mid-amateur title with a total of 158, while the top senior was Fiona Chung Zimmerman of Thailand with a 167 aggregate.
