Golf pro Ashley closes in on LPGA card, Olympics
KUCHING: Malaysian No. 1 woman golfer Ashley Lau Jen Wen has set qualification for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tournaments as her primary goal this year.
The 23-year-old lass from Bintulu, who was the first Sarawakian woman to turn pro in December 2022, inched closer to the qualifying mark when she finished among the Top 45 in the Second Week and Top 60 in the First Week in the Q-Series in Alabama, US in the same year.
To qualify for the Q-Series, she needs to be among the Top 90 in Stage 1, Top 60 in Stage 2 and Top 45 in Stage 3.
Last week, she became the first from Sarawak to top the national women’s rankings and top Malaysian female golfer with 244 points (based on world rankings).
The 2016 Malaysia Games (Sukma) individual silver medalist is also well positioned to qualify for the 2024 Olympics in August. The nation’s top two ranked women golfers earn automatic berths to the Paris Olympics with the cut-off date set for June 24.
Ashley recently won her first professional title at the Vic Open in Thirteenth Beach Golf Links, Victoria with a 12-under par 277 after a stellar college career at the University of Michigan, finished second in the Webex Players Series Victoria, fourth in The Webex Players Series Sydney and fifth in the Webex Players Series Hunter Valley.
She is now heading to the Hana Financial Group Singapore Open at Tanah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course from March 7 to 10.
“I am not setting any target or hold any expectations in Singapore, I just want to relax and play my normal game and try to do my best in the competition,” said Ashley whose younger sister Adeline will caddy for her.
“To prepare for this competition, l usually play 9 nine holes daily on top of practice to maximise my practice quality.
“I analyse my game, then my coach Fergal McGeown and I come up with a practice plan.
“The big goal for this year is to get my LPGA card. I don’t have any big expectations but really just want to enjoy playing the game again.
“Starting out as a pro, I gave myself too much pressure to do well and it slowly led me to hating the sport that I have loved growing up. I made it a goal this year to try and enjoy and appreciate every time I go out on the greens,” she added.
Now that her game is trending in the right direction, Ashley is still looking for ways to improve it.
She spent a lot of time reassessing her strengths and which aspects can be improved to raise the efficiency of her practice.
“I am really glad to see it paying off but, moving forward, there is still a lot that I can learn and improve on.
“On top of that, I worked really hard on the physical side to get my body strong and flexible and it definitely plays an important role in golf,” added Ashley.
I made it a goal this year to try and enjoy and appreciate every time I go out on the greens.
Ashley Lau