It was a classic case of coming full circle for Faldo Series alumnus Kelly Tan when the Malaysian professional golfer attended the 17th Asia Grand Final in Vietnam as a special guest.
Tan conducted a series of clinics during the prestigious championship, held in April at Laguna Golf Lang Co in Hue. The 32-year-old shared her expertise and experience on the LPGA Tour with the Grand Finalists, as well as young golfers from the resort’s grassroots programme.
During her junior days in the late 2000s, Tan competed in two Faldo Series Asia Grand Finals at Mission Hills Golf Club in China. She went on to qualify for the LPGA Tour and, over more than a decade competing on the world’s leading ladies’ circuit, established herself as the country’s most successful golfer.
“When I first got the call from Matthew, I just thought it’s an honour that they would ask me to do this. It would be a wonderful opportunity for me to meet the youngsters now, because I feel like I lost a little bit of that connection.
“At the same time, it’s probably time for me to give back to the next generation, just sharing with them about my journey – I was them once, and hopefully through my story I can inspire them,” said Tan, a two-time Olympian at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
“The Faldo Series was one of the first international events that I played in, so it’s a special one for me, you know, meeting new players and all that.
"I remember Sir Nick Faldo gave really good advice. His clinic was more traditional; it was a lot about feel – what to do when you want to hit low, and so on. It was not very technical, but it was amazing just listening to him sharing his stories – and he had some incredible ones,” she added.
Tan went out on course to watch the players in action, and was impressed by what she saw.
“The game is definitely becoming very powerful. They all hit the ball really far, and there was a lot of talent out there.”
Closer to home, Tan recently ran a three-day performance camp for aspiring junior talents at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC), dubbed ‘The Training Block Performance Camp’, collaborating with fellow professional Dianne Luke.
“This year, I’ll be playing a more selective schedule, really focusing on the events that matter most to me. Competitive golf will always be part of me, but helping the next generation grow is something I’m really passionate about.
"I’m excited to start sharing my experience and investing in the next generation,” said Tan, who signed on as KLGCC’s golf ambassador earlier this year.
Over the course of her professional career, Tan set a host of benchmarks for Malaysian golf. She made 25 Major starts, with her best performance being joint 13th at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Tan recorded 19 career top-25 and four career top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour, including runners-up at the team format Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in 2022 and 2023. She won the 2019 Florida's Natural Charity Classic on the Epson Tour.
