Pebble Beach Beckons for Malaysian Amateur Wong

California, United States: Malaysia’s top-ranked female amateur Jeneath Wong will make her maiden Major appearance in next month’s US Women’s Open.

The 18-year-old secured a start at Pebble Beach Golf Links from July 6-9 following a runner-up finish in the US Women’s Open Qualifying Tournament at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club.

Wong carded rounds of 74 and 70 in the 36-hole, one-day qualifier at the California venue. Her even-par 144 total was one shot behind fellow amateur Amari Avery of the United States.

As the top two players in the 64-strong field, they both earned spots in the 78th US Women’s Open Championship which will mark the first time a women’s Major has been played at Pebble Beach, host to seven men’s Majors including six US Opens.

“I’m really excited at making my first Major appearance at this year’s US Women’s Open,” said Wong, 18th in the 2022 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific and currently 57th in the women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking.

“I’m so looking forward to playing at Pebble Beach, which is one of the most prestigious golf courses in the world. Most golfers dream to play there, so I’m just super thrilled to get to play the course,” she added.

Wong is planning to arrive at Pebble Beach a few days before the championship to familiarise herself with the layout and conditions. “I’ll probably go to Pebble Beach three to four days before the tournament to get used to the golf course and the greens,” said the freshman at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

Wong has amassed a 72.72 season scoring average for the Pepperdine Waves women’s golf team, breaking the freshman record of 73.22 set by Danielle Kang in 2009-10. Last month, Wong helped her team reach the NCAA Women’s Division 1 National Championship quarter-finals for the first time since the match play format started in 2015.

“College life has been really good. I just finished my first semester as a freshman and am now starting summer school, which lets me participate in big golf events around the world whilst attending school online,” said Wong, who was born in Kuala Lumpur and moved to Melbourne with her family when she was 10 years old.

Meanwhile, Malaysian professional Alyaa Abdulghany is first alternate for the US Women's Open after finishing third in the Rancho Santa Fe qualifier on one-over 145 (71-74). Abdulghany plays on the Epson Tour, the official qualifying circuit for the LPGA Tour, and is in 11th spot on the season-long Race For The Card standings.

US Women’s Open Qualifying began on May 9 and ended on June 7, covering 23 sites in the United States and one each in Canada, Japan and Belgium. To be eligible, a player must have a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4 or be a professional.

The United States Golf Association received 2,107 entries for this year’s championship, the first time that entries had surpassed the 2,000 mark. The previous highest total of 1,874 was established last year for the championship’s 77th staging at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina, when Australian Minjee Lee triumphed with a championship record total of 13-under-par 271.