PETALING JAYA: Jeneath Wong (pic) of Malaysia began her title defence at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship with a battling even-par 72, leaving her eight shots back of first-round leader Yang Yun-seo of South Korea.
The 21-year-old Jeneath, who made history by becoming the first golfer from Malaysia to lift the prestigious title in Vietnam last year, hit four birdies in her opening six holes before boarding the bogey train around the turn where she dropped four shots over a five-hole stretch at Royal Wellington.
Another Malaysian, Charlayne Chong opened with a solid 71, which featured five birdies against four bogeys, for a share of 17th place in her third tournament appearance.
Foong Zi Yu carded a 73, Nur Diana Syafiqah Abdullah returned a 78 while Nur Maisara Saad shot an 86.
Jeneath, a senior at Pepperdine University in the United States, was upbeat despite ending the day well off the pace.
“I still feel I can do better in the coming days, so I’ll try my best,” said Jeneath.
“I was picking up momentum at the start. My approach shots were pretty close.
“I guess three, four feet, that’s how I got the four birdies. Then towards the back nine, I had three bogeys in a row.
“I think the wind picked up a bit but I still managed to get all par for that.”
Jeneath knows she must navigate the swirly conditions better at the iconic course if she is to haul herself back into the title frame today.
“Definitely just probably being calm even if the wind picks up or I make a bogey. Also just sticking to my game plan as usual and just keep hitting it close.
“I grew up in Melbourne so the wind is pretty strong there. But in Wellington, the winds really just swirl around so it makes it a bit harder to decide which club to use.”
Eighteen-year-old Yun-seo was flawless with a bogey-free 64 to lead the championship by one stroke over Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau while another Korean Park Seo-jin opened with a 67 for solo third place.
