Malaysian Oon Acclimatising to Life on the Tour

Hurricane, Utah, United States: Malaysian Natasha Andrea Oon attributes her recent run of impressive performances on the Epson Tour to a growing acclimatisation to life as a professional golfer.

The 21-year-old has chalked up three top-10 finishes in four starts this year, coming close to winning her first pro title in the last two events with consecutive runner-up finishes.

In her most recent tournament, the Casino Del Sol Golf Classic in early April, Oon shot a closing 66 to finish one shot behind winner Gigi Stoll of the United States.

“I think it’s just getting used to things. You don’t really know professional life until you’re out there. I’ve been trying to prioritise having a routine, because everything’s always changing – the environments, the people around you, everything is changing, so something must be stable,” said Oon, who turned professional in June 2022 after a standout collegiate golf career with San Jose State University.

“I think what’s going well for me is just being able to learn. And honestly, those good results have just been a product of every experience I’ve ever had with golf. It’s just been a great learning experience out there,” added Oon, a three-time participant in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, with a best finish of tied 11th in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

The Epson Tour is the official qualifying circuit for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour. Oon’s fine form and strong results have vaulted her into second place on the Tour’s Race For The Card season rankings with US$46,077 in prize money, giving her a solid start in her quest to end the year as one of the 10 players to earn LPGA cards for 2024.

Since the start of 2023, Oon has climbed more than 400 rungs up the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. In the latest standings she’s 407th. Current Malaysian number one Kelly Tan is 236th.

Oon says her main aim this year is to get fully in sync with life on Tour. “For me, it’s just a product of everything, just learning and working hard. And if it doesn’t happen, I’m going to be fine.

“If I feel like I’ve been fully committed and done a good job of handling myself out there, then that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” she said.

While her college golf schedule was hectic, Oon noted that there is much more stress playing as a professional. Her next tournament is the Epson Tour’s US$230,000 Copper Rock Championship in Hurricane, Utah, which starts today.

“It’s the lifestyle. It’s so hard on the body, you know, playing week out week in, and just travelling, driving for hours on end. And you still have to try to make sure that you’re out there giving it 100% on course. When you’re a college golfer, people were planning it for you, but now it’s a whole different ball game.

“Obviously, there’s the cut line. Sometimes we did play with a cut as amateurs, but now that it’s money and your livelihood, you have to learn how to manage that. You just can’t let it define how you’re going to approach your game,” explained Oon.

Being an outgoing person by nature, Oon enjoys meeting new people as she travels from tournament to tournament. “It’s taught me a lot. We often stay at host housing and I really enjoy that. It’s like having weekly families and they really treat you like their daughter. I enjoy meeting people and learning about their stories.”

Having played as an amateur in the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia in 2016 and 2017 when she finished 74th and 67th respectively, Oon is thrilled that the LPGA will be returning to Malaysia after a five-year lapse when the US$3 million Maybank Championship tees off at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (October 26-29).

“I’m super, super happy that the LPGA is back. I don’t even know if I’m playing in it yet, but hopefully I will. It’ll be such an honour to play in front of my fellow Malaysians and in front of my family again. It’s going to be a full circle moment for me.

“Maybank showing their support for women’s golf and seeing that women’s golf is a channel for them to build their brand, I think that’s amazing,” enthused Oon, who was part of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia Development Programme, a holistic training programme for promising young female golfers geared towards them peaking for the championship qualifiers.

She said: “I don’t think many girls had fully scheduled training then, having things planned out morning till night. So, it was great for me to understand and get used to day-to-day training.

“And I remember winning the qualifier in 2017 – that was just such a core memory that you bring with you through your career. It was a stepping stone to something bigger, for sure.

“Hopefully, more girls will see Kelly Tan showcasing her talent and realise that, hey, here’s the Malaysian who made it on the LPGA Tour and is doing so well. Endless possibilities for sure.”

If Oon keeps playing the way she is now, the possibilities are endless for her.