Audrey Tan remains as the top Malaysian in the field and successfully made the halfway cut to advance into the weekend of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship after firing a two-under-par 70 today. This marks the Malaysian’s third time in advancing to the final two rounds of the prestigious event following her previous starts in 2021 and 2022.

Climbing up into T22 spot on one-over-par 145 (75-70), Tan is currently nine shots behind joint leaders Sophie Han of Hong Kong (68-68), Thailand’s EIla Galitsky (69-67) and Korea’s Minsol Kim (67-69).

Feeling more confident out on the course earlier, the 21-year-old claimed that yesterday’s reflections proved to be the knowledge she needed for better decision-making today.

“I think I played a little smarter. I learnt a lot from yesterday and took the smart play on certain holes and then could take aim on the holes that I felt comfortable on,” noted Tan as she compared her two opening rounds.

With four birdies on 3, 8, 13 and 17, Tan’s patience on the greens played to her advantage and eventually saw more putts dropping as the day went on.

“I just had more confidence on the greens and continued trusting my lines even when the putts weren’t dropping,” said Tan.

Chalking up her best finish in T21 at last year’s edition, the University of North Texas fifth-year student will be sticking to her current game plan without much expectations for the next two days.

“There aren’t any result-based goals I’m going for, I’m just sticking to my game plan, playing one shot at a time and see how much I can improve each day while enjoying the golf course,” she said.

Ready to continue taking on Singapore Island Country Club’s beautiful yet demanding New Course, Tan will be pacing herself and staying focused on the present.

“I’m just going to try my best and give myself more birdie opportunities tomorrow and despite the course being visually challenging, it’s amazing and I love it out there,” said an enthusiastic Tan.

The Malaysians missing the halfway cut are Wang Xin Yao (77-76), Geraldine Wong (75-77), Ng Jing Xuen (79-74), Amalia Shahzan (79-78) and Maisarah Hezri (86-79).

Wang, Amalia and Maisarah experienced their first starts of the WAAP, while Wong and Ng were making their second appearances, having played in the first edition at Sentosa Golf Club in 2018 and Siam Country Club in 2022 respectively.

Malaysia’s best finish at the WAAP is sixth, achieved by Epson Tour rookie professional Ashley Lau back in 2021 during the third edition at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Developed by the R&A and the APGC to inspire future generations of women golfers, the winner of the WAAP will earn exemptions into three Major championships this year – AIG Women’s Open, the Amundi Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship – as well as the Hana Financial Group Championship and an invitation to play in the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA).

For more information on the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship, visit www.randa.org/WAAP.