PETALING JAYA: Jeneath Wong of Malaysia safely made the halfway cut at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) following a second round of one-over 73 but it will be a tough ask to see her retain her title.
She will enter the weekend rounds 14 shots behind leader Yang Yun-seo of South Korea.
The 21-year-old US-based golfer traded two birdies against three bogeys at Royal Wellington Golf Club for a 36-hole aggregate of one-over 145 and was matched by fellow Malaysian Charlayne Chong, who added a 74 to her opening 71.
Foong Zi Yu carded a 77 to also advance into the final two rounds on the cutline of six-over 150 but it was the end of the road for Nur Diana Syafiqah Abdullah (81) and Nur Maisara Saad (77).
Overnight leader Yun-seo added a 67 to her opening 64 to establish a new 36-hole championship record with her 13-under 131 total, three strokes ahead of compatriot Kim Gyu-been (65) and Rianne Malixi of the Philippines (66).
After rewriting a slice of golf history by becoming the first Malaysian to win the WAAP in Vietnam last year, Jeneath has failed to fire on all cylinders so far in her bid to become the first player to retain the prestigious title.
“Made some silly mistakes I guess. I managed to come back a bit but today’s pin positions and weather were definitely hard,” said Jeneath, who is a senior at Pepperdine University.
“Just as we were about to tee off, it was kind of like white rain. You couldn’t see anything.
“Tee box was flooding. I thought it was going to suspend a little, but nothing. Just kept going.”
She is hoping to turn around her form by sinking more birdies in the third round in an effort to move up the leaderboard.
“Since it’s moving day, definitely made a bit more birdies and probably try for harder birdies,” she added.
The 23-year-old Charlayne enjoyed her first made-cut at the WAAP in her third appearance after battling to a 74 which included two birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey.
Like Jeneath, she struggled under the challenging conditions.
“It was a struggle to be very honest because I couldn’t get my warm-up routine as I did yesterday, because of the rain. It was pouring, so I didn’t do much putting and I could only do and figure out things during my round.
“We’ve never really had this kind of conditions, extreme conditions in Malaysia. Usually with this kind of rain, we wouldn’t be able to play. I couldn’t make my birdies to be honest, until my last hole,” she said.
