MALAYSIA this week welcomes the return of the LPGA Tour to Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club for the Maybank Championship.
It’s been long overdue, some say, given that the last time the world’s elite women’s tour was here was back in 2017 – an absence of six years.
All the same, it is just brilliant to have the event – now well and truly the only big international tournament on the country’s golf calendar, for men or women.
This, of course, flies in the face of the men’s Malaysian Open, the national championship that has not been held since 2019.
And for those who might want to mention Covid as the cause, this excuse is pitiful and holds water with those who know the sport, or even partially so. But that’s for another day to delve into.
This space this week is about welcoming the inaugural Maybank Championship to the fold of elite global golf events. And to be sure, this tournament is nothing short of that.
Indeed, Maybank’s commitment to golf has been there for some time now.
To be more precise, this will be the 15th year in which the country’s biggest bank in terms of assets, and the fourth largest in the Asean region, has comfortably found its place among the world’s leading golf tournaments.
For good measure, it is the richest event on the LPGA Tour’s Asian Swings. And those stops include China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
More meaningful to the local communities are the benefits and spin-offs that this championship brings with it.
The financial gains from the tourism and business aspects have been well chronicled, but it is the development of the game that surely sits atop all of those tenets that matter the most.
By bringing out to Kuala Lumpur the very best of the LPGA Tour, Maybank is fulfilling the aspirations of many who want to see their star players live in action and do so without having to cross borders.
At a quick glance, the field includes almost 20 major championship winners and nearly all of the top 20 players in the Rolex Women’s World Ranking.
This line-up includes 2023 major winners Ruoning Yin of China, the world number two who captured the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, France’s world No 5 Celine Boutier, who claimed the Evian Championship on her home turf and world number nine Allisen Corpuz, who won the US Open.
South Korean Jin Young Ko, ranked third in the world, American Nelly Korda, No 4 in the rankings, Hyo-Joo Kim (No 6) and China’s world number 10 Xiyu Lin are also in the field this week on KLGCC’s West Course.
There are a host of other players, including major winners, who will be keen on leaving their imprint on the Kuala Lumpur course. Among them are Canada’s two-time major champion Brooke Henderson, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn and Patty Tavatanakit, Americans Jennifer Kupcho and Danielle Kang, South Korean Sei Young Kim, Hinako Shibuno and Yuka Saso of Japan, South African Ashleigh Buhai and New Zealander Lydia Ko.
Malaysia’s contingent in the US$3mil tournament will come in the form of Maybank’s Asean ambassador Kelly Tan.
The country’s three players on the Epson Tour this year – Natasha Andrea Oon, Alyaa Abdulghany and Ashley Lau – and two of the nation’s leading amateurs, Ng Jing Xuen and Jeneath Wong will also be there.
Asean will be well represented, with Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri flying Indonesia’s flag, Amanda Tan carrying the hopes of Singapore and Dottie Ardina doing duty for the Philippines.
Putri should certainly be one to watch from Asean, having shown good potential, particularly as her country’s top-ranked amateur from May 2018 through April 2020. More recently, she has played consistently well on the Thai LPGA Tour this year and will come to Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club with confidence.
For 24-year-old Amanda, this will be a huge opportunity to gain invaluable experience when rubbing shoulders with the world’s leading players.
The Epson Tour rookie has registered a handful of cuts on the US-based circuit, including the Black Desert Resort Championship presented by Marcella in Utah.
Amanda will also look forward to good support in Kuala Lumpur, given that the city-state is on Johor’s doorstep.
She became the first Singaporean to secure an Epson Tour card and also became the first woman to win on the FTAG Singapore Pro Series Invitational when she triumphed in 2021.
Dottie, a Filipino who triumphed at the 2022 Copper Rock Championship at Copper Rock Golf Course in Hurricane, on the Epson Tour, had two top-10s this season, considered good in a shortened campaign of just nine events.
She managed a tie for eighth place at the Four Winds Invitational and was a runner-up at the IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty, all of which gives promise for her to hold her own on the West Course of Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
Her other pro wins came at the Australian Ladies Professional Golf’s 2020 Ballarat Icons Pro-Am and the 2014 Thailand Singha-SAT LPGA Championship.
Kelly has given the West Course a thumbs-up, which should add nicely to the excitement expected this week and underscore Maybank’s return to the sport – in a big and fashionable manner.
