Putting key to Filipina golfers' WAAP title bid

MANILA, Philippines — Four of the young guns in the crack Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship roster agreed it will be a very demanding week in their pursuit of the coveted crown but all liked what they saw when they tried out the Singapore Island Country Club’s The New Course in Tuesday’s practice round.

“It will be a hard walk this week, but I think a great factor to the scoring will be putting since the greens here are really huge and they’re very undulating,” said Rianne Malixi, spearhead of a four-player Philippine crew all primed up for a four-day battle of shotmaking and wits with some of the world’s best.

“This course is very difficult,” said Japanese Rin Yoshida, the world’s No. 4 and the highest ranked player in the field that also features those who dominated the recent Queen Sirikit Cup at Manila Southwoods.

Like Malixi, who will turn 16 on Friday, Yoshida thinks the title chase will all boil down to The New Course’s last line of defense.

“Greens not fast but sloping a lot,” she added.

New Zealand’s Fiona Xu, on the other hand, is putting emphasis on stamina, saying: “It’s a very beautiful course. It’s quite hilly, so it’s going to be quite tiring walking the course.”

“But the greens are really nice, quite challenging,” added Xu.

Chinese Yahui Zhang, meanwhile, can’t wait to fire her first official shot.

“This is a magnificent course and it has a lot of challenges. It’s quite different from the ones I’ve played in China. Especially the greens and the fairways are quite different. It will be very challenging and I look forward to it,” said Zhang.

The rest of the cast, including Queen Sirikit Cup runaway individual champion Avani Prashanth of India, defending champion Ting-Hsuan Huang of Taiwan, 2021 titlist and world No. 15 Mizuki Hashimoto and the talent-laden Korean squad which reclaimed the Sirikit Cup, are all geared up for the upcoming test, guaranteeing a frenetic battle for top honors that has marked the first four editions of the region’s premier women’s amateur championship.

“I’m not really nervous. I prepared so hard for this tournament, so I’m so excited,” said Yoshida, who didn’t see action in Queen Sirikit but is coming into this week’s blue-ribbon event armed with solid putting.

“In Japan it's winter, so I camped with my coach. My coach has been here before, so me and my coach are playing, putting mostly,” she said.

For her part, the ICTSI-backed Malixi said she took a brief break after the Sirikit Cup and like Yoshida, she worked on her putting and irons and is keeping a positive mindset in a bid to improve on her joint third finish in Thailand last year and end a long search for a major championship.

“I'll be sticking to the same mindset I have been sticking to the past few tournaments I've played. Just trying to stay in the present and not to get ahead of myself and just try to play my best every time I play,” said Malixi, who will be joined in the hunt by Mafy Singson, Lois Kaye Go and reigning national stroke play champion Junia Gabasa.

Winner of two AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) tournaments and three pro events back home last year, Malixi said she has improved drastically the past few years but stressed the need to work well in the clutch that has stymied her bid in big-time championships.

“I certainly gained a lot of experience just in playing tournaments,” she said. “But I just got to handle the pressure better, so I think I did a better job doing that, and then knowing that I can bring that aspect of my game this week will definitely help.”