Birthday girl Kelly promises to stay aggressive

KUALA LUMPUR: The start of the Maybank Championship was especially meaningful for national golfer Kelly Tan as it was also her birthday.

Kelly was delighted to get a rare opportunity to compete at home on her birthday yesterday.

“It’s very special for me to have this tournament on my birthday week,” said Kelly, who turned 30 yesterday.

“I don’t really get to celebrate my birthday too much at home because I’ve been playing on the road on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour.”

Kelly finished with one-under 71 in the first round at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

“I was very nervous today (yesterday) before I teed off, but I was really glad that I was playing under and I managed to shoot minus one,” said Kelly.

“There are lots of birdie opportunities out there and I gave myself lots of good looks.

“I struggled a bit off the tee but I still managed to get myself around the golf course and I was proud of that.”

Kelly is out to maintain an aggressive strategy for the second round today.

“I think the first round was the hardest, just getting off these few holes and getting the nerves out of the way. I mean my game plan is not going to change. I’m still going to keep playing aggressive.

“In this course, you can really go at pins and the greens are not too fast yet, so you can also be pretty aggressive with your putts.

“I’m just going to do those and post a score.”

Kelly is not setting any specific targets for herself in the tournament.

“There is no specific number that I’m setting for myself,” said Kelly.

“This is a confidence boosting week for me and I want to be able to walk away on Sunday telling myself that I’ve done everything I could.”

On her plans to celebrate her birthday, Kelly said: “I think I’m just going to go out for dinner with my husband. We have friends from Canada as well as my family. I also have my friends here at this course. I feel very loved with a lot of people around me this week.”