PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s top-ranked lady amateur Jeneath Wong is super excited about making her maiden Major appearance in this year’s US Women’s Open at the famed Pebble Beach Golf Links.
The 18-year-old secured a start in the prestigious championship following a runner-up finish in the US Women’s Open Qualifying Tournament at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club in California on June 5.
Wong carded rounds of 74 and 70 in the 36-hole, one-day qualifier for an even par 144 total, one shot behind fellow amateur Amari Avery of the US.
As the top two players in the field of 64, they both earned spots in the 78th US Women’s Open Championship which tees off at Pebble Beach in California this July 6-9. This will be the first time that a women’s Major will be played at Pebble Beach, which has hosted seven men’s Majors including six U.S. Opens.
“I’m really excited at making my first Major appearance at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. I’m so looking forward to playing at Pebble Beach, which is one of the most prestigious golf courses in the world. Most golfers dream to play there, so I’m just super thrilled to get to play the course,” noted Wong, currently ranked 57th in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Wong added that she plans to head to Pebble Beach a few days before the championship to
familiarise herself with the layout and conditions.
“I’ll probably go to Pebble Beach three to four days before the tournament to get used to the golf course and the greens,” said the freshman at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Wong has amassed a 72.72 season scoring average for the Pepperdine Waves women’s golf team, breaking the all-time freshman record of 73.22 set by Danielle Kang in 2009-10. Last month, Wong helped her team reach the NCAA Women’s Division 1 National Championship quarterfinals for the first time since the match play format started in 2015.
“College life has been really good. I just finished my first semester as a freshman and am now starting summer school, which lets me participate in big golf events around the world whilst attending school online,” shared Wong, who was born in Kuala Lumpur and moved to Melbourne with her family when she was 10 years old.
Malaysian professional Alyaa Abdulghany is first alternate after finishing third in the Rancho Santa Fe qualifier on one-over-par 145 (71-74). Alyaa plays on the Epson Tour, the official qualifying circuit for the LPGA Tour, and is in 11th spot on the season-long Race For The Card standings.
US Women’s Open Qualifying began on May 9 and ended on June 7, covering 23 sites in the US and one each in Canada, Japan and Belgium. To be eligible, a player must have a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4 or be a professional.
The United States Golf Association received a record total of 2,107 entries for this year’s championship, which is the first time that entries had surpassed the 2,000 mark. The previous highest total of 1,874 was established last year for the championship’s 77th staging at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina, when Australia’s Minjee Lee triumphed with a championship record total of 13-under-par 271.
