Kritchanya finished 9th at Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, Wong narrowly won the championship onelove168

onelove168 Janeth Wong, ranked 123rd in the world amateur rankings, became the first Malaysian to win the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific after finishing with a total score of 18-under-par 266 at the par-71 Hoi An Shore Golf Club in Vietnam on March 9, narrowly beating world number 9 Soo Min Oh of South Korea by a single stroke. Meanwhile, Kritchanya Kaopattanasakul finished with a total score of 9-under-par 275, the best among Thai golfers at joint 9th place. onelove168

The R&A, in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, organized the 7th Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) amateur golf tournament at Hoi An Shore Golf Club in Vietnam from March 6-9. A total of 96 leading amateur golfers from 24 member countries participated in the tournament. There are 6 Thai golfers competing: Achirayan Sriwong (39th in the world), Pimpisa Roprob (53rd in the world), Pimmada Wongthanawimok (104th in the world), Prim Prachnakorn (171st in the world), Kritchanya Kaophatthanasakun (241st in the world) and Kanlayarak Pongpithanon (613th in the world).

The closing ceremony of the competition was that Janeth Wong, an individual bronze medalist at the 2022 SEA Games in Vietnam, who started the final round in a 3-stroke lead, maintained her form and shot another 3-under-par 68 from making 5 birdies and losing 2 bogeys, finishing with a total score of 18-under-par 266, winning the championship and the right to play in 3 women’s major tournaments. Soomin Oh, the world’s 9th ranked player from South Korea, sped up and shot 5-under-par 66, finishing as runner-up with a total score of only one stroke lost at 17-under-par 267.

Janeth Wong, a 20-year-old third-year student at Pepperdine University, California, said after becoming the first Malaysian golfer to win this tournament, “It’s like a dream because I never thought I would win this tournament. Today, I tried to play carefully, save par, make as many birdies as possible, and stay calm. I feel very happy and excited to have the opportunity to play in a major tournament.”

Nat-Kritchanya Kaopattanasakul, a member of the Thai national golf team that won the Cartini Cup in Singapore last year, started off well by making two birdies in the first nine holes. But she missed and lost 2 bogeys at holes 10 and 12 before opening the game to attack and collect 3 birdies in the last 4 holes, finishing 18 holes with 3 under par 68, totaling 9 under par 275 for 4 days, ranked 9th, the best among Thai golfers.

Kritchanya Kaopattanasakul talked about playing in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific for the first time and being able to score under par all 4 days, saying, “Today, the first nine holes opened quite well, there were a lot of on putts, some were able to putt, some were not. The second round was not so good. After losing 2 bogeys, the score was left at even par, so I told my father who was my caddie that for the remaining 6 holes, I would make at least 3 birdies because the goal was to score 10 under. Overall, it was considered as achieving the goal, even though it was not 100 percent, but I was able to score under par every day. It was an exciting and happy feeling to be able to play in this tournament because it was a tournament that I had always dreamed of playing. I will go back to practice and strengthen my body, practice playing different balls to be more consistent and precise (onelove168)