Mirabel impresses in debut as Malaysia finish eighth
PETALING JAYA: Mirabel Ting’s creditable debut inspired the Malaysian women’s golf team to a better position in the Queen Sirikit Cup in Australia.
Mirabel, together with Liyana Durisic and Winnie Ng Yu Xuan, finished eighth in the AsiaPacific women’s team championship after completing the final round with a one-under 145 at the Glenelg Golf Club in Adelaide yesterday.
Last year, Malaysia finished ninth.
Mirabel closed with a two-under 71 but her seniors Liyana and Winnie carded identical 74s for the team’s three-day total of nine-over 447.
Only the two best scores of the day are counted towards the daily team score.
South Korea’s Seo Uh-jin, Sohn Ye-been and Lee Ye-won cruised to their 21st crown in emphatic fashion by registering a 17-under 421 total to finish 16 strokes clear of second-placed Australia in the 14-nation contest.
Mirabel’s individual effort of an even 219 saw her finish a commendable joint sixth among 41 competitors.
Malaysian Ladies Golf Association (Malga) executive director Datuk Rabeahtul Aloya A. Abbas commended Mirabel’s good performance ahead of the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Golf Championship in Japan from April 25-28.
“Mirabel is young and full of potential, and I believe she will be a key member in our national team for many years to come,” said Rabeahtul.
“She’ll go up against some of the world’s best female golfers at the upcoming tournament in Tokyo and I hope it’ll be a good debut for her.
“We could have done better in the Queen Sirikit Cup this week, but Liyana and Winnie did not have a good week with their putting. That’s golf. But they did improve in each round and I’m happy with that.”
Malaysia’s best result was a third placing by Lim Ai Lian, Lim Siew Ai and Irene Yeoh in the 1992 edition in Guangzhou, China.
Ai Lian even won the individual competition, a feat that has not been repeated since.
The team did not have the services of Loy Hee Ying, Natasha Andrea Oon and Ashley Lau Jen Wen — all currently based in the US but they will compete in Japan.