Singapore: Following a memorable week for female Asian golfers, Oh Soo-min has returned to the top-10 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), while Japan’s Reina Todaka and Vietnam’s Chuc An Le also made notable progress in the standings.
Over The Tom Watson Course at Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Japan, 16-year-old Korean Oh produced a spectacular performance to defend her Queen Sirikit Cup individual title.
With rounds of 69, 67, 62 and 69 she posted a 21-under-par tally of 267 for an emphatic 11-stroke victory.
In so doing, she also led her country to its latest victory in the Amateur Ladies Asia-Pacific Invitational Golf Team Championship.
Runner-up at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific in Vietnam in March, Oh’s latest virtuoso performance has seen her rise five places to ninth in the WAGR.
She’s the highest-ranked Korean and is third among Asia-Pacific players, behind only Malaysian Mirabel Ting (second) and Rianne Malixi of the Philippines (fifth).
Also reaching career-high rankings were Todaka and Chuc An.
Rounds of 71, 73, 73 and 73 gave Todaka a 290 total and a one-shot victory in the Kanto Women's Amateur Championship.
She was the 393rd best amateur in the world before the event, but now occupies the 301st ranking.
Breaking into the top-300 for the first time is Chuc An.
The exciting Vietnamese prospect triumphed in a field of professionals from the Thai LPGA Tour in the Trang An Open.
Her reward was a jump of 79 places in the WAGR to 297th, cementing her position as the number one Vietnam female golfer.
Meanwhile, Song Ji-min added her name to the growing list of outstanding Korean players.
She turned up for the Bitgoeuljungheung Cup at Gold Lake Country Club in Naju-si without a single ranking point. She made sure she left with status by running out a two-shot winner, closing with a 69 after earlier returns of 70, 72 and 70.
Song slides into the 2,812th position on the table.
Japan’s Nanami Araki also made big strides. She soared 936 spots to 861st following a 74th place finish among the professionals in the Sky RKB Ladies Classic on the Japan LPGA Tour.
