Korean Teenager Yang Sets Blistering First-Round Pace

Wellington, New Zealand: Yang Yun-seo produced a barnstorming back-nine birdie barrage to set a blistering early pace in the eighth edition of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP).

Two-under at the turn, the 18-year-old Korean turned on the style with a further six birdies on her inward journey to sign for a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 at Royal Wellington Golf Club.

On an ideal day for scoring with light breezes and greens running at almost 11 on the stimpmeter, no fewer than 32 players from the 84-strong starting line-up shot par or better.

Alone in second place just one shot off the lead is Hong Kong, China’s Arianna Lau with Korean Park Seo-jin two strokes further back in third.

Sharing fourth place on 68 are former US Women’s Amateur champion Rianne Malixi of the Philippines and Australian Jazy Roberts, winner of last week’s Australian Amateur Championship.

Hong Su-min, third at last year’s WAAP in Vietnam, is alongside fellow-Korean Kim Gyu-been, Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Ping-hua and China’s Liu Yujie in equal sixth on 69. Liu matched Yang and Lau as the only players to keep a bogey off their card.

Oh Soo-min, runner-up last year and the highest-rated player in the field this week at 11th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), recovered from a slow start to post a 70, while defending champion Jeneath Wong raced to four-under through six holes but dropped four shots in a five-hole stretch from the eighth after the wind picked up to finish on even-par 72.

“I grew up in Melbourne and the wind is pretty strong there. But here in Wellington the winds swirl around which makes it a bit harder to decide which club to use,” said the Malaysian-born golfer.

Leading the way for hosts New Zealand was Eunseo Choi. The country’s top-ranked player made birdies at her final two holes for a one-under 71, joint 16th, while Amy Tang and Elise Barber both returned 72s.

It was a particularly noteworthy effort from Barber, the youngest player in the field, who had the honour of striking the opening tee shot. Undaunted by the large galleries around the first tee, the 13-year-old safely found the right centre of the fairway. 

Reflecting on that first drive, Barber said: “Every minute that went by before I teed off, the nerves started getting to me. As my name got called, a lot of things were running through my head thinking: ‘Oh, my gosh, it's the first hole. I've got to aim perfectly down the fairway; set myself up for the next shot’. I got away nicely and everyone was clapping. I was really happy about that first shot. It was great having a home crowd supporting me.”

Despite her fast start, 18-year-old pace-setter Yang is not getting ahead of herself.

“Even after finishing the round, I reminded myself that it’s only the first day. I plan to focus on each day as it comes. I’ll concentrate on what’s in front of me. If I do that, I think good results will follow,” said Yang, who had a strong finish to 2025, winning the National Sports Festival in her home country as well as the Malaysian Women’s Amateur Open and the UAE Cup, and is currently 44th in the WAGR.

Yang, whose score bettered by two the 66s she had in rounds two and four at last year’s WAAP, added: “I didn’t expect to shoot this kind of score in the first round. I had two practice rounds here, but I don’t think that was enough. As I continue to play more rounds, I’ll get to know the course better. Rather than playing aggressively, I plan to play more conservatively and steadily.”

Like Korea, Hong Kong, China is seeking a first WAAP victory, with Lau the most likely to deliver.

A two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Girls’ championship, the 18-year-old is making her fifth WAAP appearance this week. She’s made the cut on all four previous occasions and has a best of tied 12th in Thailand in 2024 – a finish she’s determined to improve upon here.

The Northwestern University standout, 36th in the WAGR, was a model of consistency. Three-under at the turn, she then birdied 10, 11, 13 and 14. A 15-footer for a four at the last to tie Yang narrowly missed its target, but Lau is happy with the position she finds herself in.

She said: “This is my fifth time playing in the WAAP, and each time it's exciting to play on the biggest stage in women's amateur golf in Asia. I’ve definitely seen myself grow a lot in this tournament and become more mature.

“Today the weather was really nice, not too windy, so it was pretty scorable. I was very consistent and gave myself a lot of chances, but I didn't expect to score so well. I just tried to stick to my gameplan.”

Malixi, forced to retire with injury in the first-round last year, made an early statement of intent when she pitched in from 35 yards for an eagle-three at the 10th, her first hole of the championship. The only blemish on her card came at the par-three eighth – her 17th – where she three-putted from 35 feet.

She said: “I only made a couple of putts and feel like I left several shots out there. I'm seeing a lot of low numbers. I think the course is really gettable. The length is only 6,300 yards, but I know it's going to get really difficult once the wind blows. I just wish I had taken more advantage of the conditions today when it wasn’t s blowing hard.”

The WAAP was developed by The R&A and the APGC to nurture talent and provide a pathway for the region’s elite women amateurs to the international stage and the rewards on offer are significant. The champion will earn exemptions into three major championships in 2026, the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, The Amundi Evian Championship in France and the Chevron Championship in the United States.