Golfer Kelly swings her way back to the big stage.
Kelly regains card for US LPGA Tour
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian No. 1 women’s golfer Kelly Tan is back on the US LPGA Tour.
Malaysia will be represented again on the world’s most prestigious women’s golf circuit after a lapse of two years when Kelly successfully regained her playing status through the Qualifying Series (Q-Series) on Saturday.
The Batu Pahat-born golfer was among the 45 players who made the cut after she finished tied 20th in the final stage of the Q-Series, which ended on the Pinehurst Course No. 9 in North Carolina.
Kelly carded rounds of 71, 68, 75 and 78 to complete the 144-hole cumulative stroke play marathon on an even-par 572 total.
She earlier made a promising start in the opening 72 holes last week, shooting rounds of 69, 71, 69 and 71 on the Pinehurst Course No. 6 to be tied 10th on a four-under 280 total.
The feat earned Kelly a Category 14 membership on the LPGA Tour Priority List for 2020, which is good enough to gain her access to 60% of the Tour’s season schedule except the Major and limited-field events.
After two failed attempts in 2017 and 2018, Kelly was extremely delighted to return to where she belongs.
“I’m super grateful to be given this chance to play on the LPGA Tour again, the pinnacle of women’s professional golf,” said Kelly, who played on the top-flight circuit for four seasons before losing her tour card in 2017.
“I’m so excited for the new season and can’t wait to get cracking.
“There’s a lot to be done to fine-tune my game and I’ll need to double up my efforts this off-season with my team to be ready for 2020. The aim is to get a strong start in the new season.”
Kelly credited the two back-to-back domestic wins she claimed on the PGM Tour earlier this year as the launch pad to a fruitful 2019 season.
Kelly bagged the PGM Perlis Ladies Championship and PGM Darulaman Ladies Championship in January and February respectively.
“The two PGM Tour titles I’ve won back home earlier this year had done my confidence a whole world of good,” said Kelly.
“It set things up nicely ahead of my return to US soil for the Symetra Tour (second-tier tour).
“I picked up my first Symetra Tour title (at the Natural Charity Classic in Florida) just after a couple of starts of the season and that win was indeed a game-changing moment for me.”
Now that she’s back on the LPGA Tour, Kelly believes it would also enhance her chances to qualify for her second Olympic appearance in Tokyo next year.
A nation can only be represented by the maximum of two players and the projected cut to make the 60-woman field is top 400 on the world rankings on June 29 next year. Kelly is currently ranked No. 416.
“Representing Malaysia at the Olympics for the second time will be a huge honour and one of my big goals next year,” said Kelly.
“So I have to really make the most of the points offered in the LPGA tournaments to improve my ranking position.”
In her four seasons on the LPGA Tour, Kelly’s best result was joint fourth at the Marathon Classic in Ohio during her rookie year in 2014.
Kelly is only the second Malaysian to ply her trade on the LPGA Tour after Lim Siew Ai.