PETALING JAYA: Mirabel Ting has put Malaysia firmly on the golfing map after sharing co-medallist honours with Japan's Kokona Sakurai in the qualifiers of the LPGA Qualifying Series at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida.
The 20-year-old Mirabel capped her strong performance by mixing six birdies with two bogeys to sign off the final round on Oct 18 (Saturday) with a four-under 68, lifting her from second place to share the top spot with Sakurai at 14-under 134.
The five-time Japan LPGA Tour winner Sakurai signed for a bogey-free eight-under 64.
South Korean Annie Kim finished in lone third place three strokes adrift after a final round of one-under 71.
Mirabel and Sakurai heads the list of top 50 golfers to advance to the Final Qualifying Stage of LPGA Q-Series in Alabama rom Dec 4-7.
It was the first time a Malaysian golfer had finished on top of the podium in an LPGA Tour event, and Mirabel was delighted to pull it off with her “older sister” Michelle Koh serving as her caddie.
Michelle, who represented Malaysia at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, has been instrumental in guiding Mirabel’s career - providing calm, encouragement, and seasoned advice through the ups and downs of professional golf, just like an older sister would.
Mirabel, a former world No. 2 amateur golfer, turned pro in July and is making her first attempt at earning a LPGA Tour card.
RESULTS
Final scores
274: Mirabel Ting (Mas) 65-69-72-68, Kokona Sakurai (Jpn) 69-71-70-64;
277: Annie Kim (Kor) 67-69-70-71;
278: Malia Nam (US) 68-69-72-69, Kendall Todd (US) 71-70-67-70, Emma Spitz (Aut) 71-65-70-72, Anna Nordfors (Swe) 71-63-69-75;
279: Li Shuying (Chn) 73-72-69-65, Min A-yoon (Kor) 69-72-71-67, Kaleiya Romero (US) 72-70-67-70, Megan Streicher (Rsa) amateur 69-70-69-71.
