LPGA star Kelly returns to inspire young golfers

PETALING JAYA: Faldo Series alumnus Kelly Tan (pic) came full circle when the Malaysian professional golfer attended the 17th Asia Grand Final in Vietnam as a special guest.

Olympian Kelly conducted a series of clinics during the prestigious championship at Laguna Golf Lang Co last week.

The 32-year-old shared her expertise and experience on the LPGA Tour with the

finalists, as well as young golfers from the resort’s grassroots programme.

During her junior days in the late 2000s, Kelly 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 women circuit, established herself as the country’s most successful golfer.

Kelly recalled that she received a call from Matthew Faldo, director of the Faldo Series, to see if she would like to be part of the Grand Final.

She jumped at the chance.

“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 Kelly, who represented Malaysia at Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“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 and 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,” added Kelly.