Chinese Taipei’s Ting-Hsuan Huang put together a stunning last 11 holes to win the fourth edition of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP), edging local favourite Natthakritta Vongtaveelap in an exciting finish at Siam Country Club in Pattaya.

Following two bogeys in her first four holes, the 17-year-old Huang nailed six birdies from Hole 8 to 18 against just one bogey to post a three-under-par 69. Her winning total of 11-under par 277 at the Waterside Course was two shots better than the long-hitting Vongtaveelap, who closed with a one-under par 71 which included bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes.

Korea’s Hyosong Lee matched the best round of the day, a six-under-par 66, to climb up to tied third place at seven-under par with Japan’s Yuna Araki (69) and Philippine’s Rianne Mikhaela Malixi (72).

Huang, who is committed to UCLA next year, has secured places in three majors in 2023 – the AIG Women’s Open, Amundi Evian Championship  and The Chevron Championship – as well as the Hana Financial Group Championship and will receive an invitation to play in the Augusta National Women's Amateur.

The WAAP was developed by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and The R&A to nurture talent and provide a pathway for the region’s elite women amateurs to the international stage.

“To be able to play in majors is really a dream come true for me. I’d like to thank The R&A and the APGC for giving us this opportunity,” said Huang. “I did not have any expectations coming into this week. I just wanted to play good golf and enjoy myself on the golf course. To be able to do this is amazing.”

The 19-year-old Vongtaveelap, who was also second in last year’s championship in Abu Dhabi, said: “I did my best today and my game was good. I think I lost the tournament because of myself and did not do well under pressure. I could feel that my swing was becoming very fast and aggressive.

“Huang is a tough competitor, and she is very good and I think I am going to learn a lot from this tournament,” said Vongtaveelap, who will be playing the Stage 2 LPGA Qualifier in Florida.

2021 champion Mizuki Hashimoto of Japan made one birdie and 17 pars for a closing 71 that tied her for the ninth place on five-under-par. Compatriot Saki Baba, the highest-ranked player in the field at number three in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, shot 66 in a bogey-free round that elevated her to T6 place at six-under-par.

Best Malaysian honours went to Iowa State University senior Liyana Durisic, who closed her fourth WAAP campaign with an even-par 72 for T13 position on four-under-par. This bested her previous best WAAP finish of T25 at last year's championship in Abu Dhabi. 

"I played well the first day and I feel like it kinda released a little bit of the pressure on me to perform for the next three days," said Durisic, who had led the tournament after a first round 66.

"I’ve learnt that I can actually play good golf. I just need to be more patient and not get super frustrated with my shots, because it can’t always be good shots and it’s OK to hit bad shots. It’s about how you come back from that.

"When I first started playing in the WAAP, I didn’t really have that much experience competing with the best golfers from each country. But now, in my fourth WAAP, I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person. It just gets better each year because you're seeing new faces and better players, and you can’t help but go in that direction as well," added the 21-year-old. 

Jeneath Wong had looked a good bet for best Malaysian when she reached the par-five 18th hole at three-under-par for the day, but pulled her second shot into the water and wound up with a double bogey, The closing 71 put the Mebourne-based lass in sole 18th position on three-under-par in her first WAAP appearance.

"It wasn’t really my greatest performance but I’m just happy to compete in this tournament. It was a good experience for me; everyone here is at the top level, so you’ve got to be really good to win the tournament.

"The WAAP is a really good event, especially for aspiring golfers. It’s a good goal to just be able to play in this tournament," said the 18-year-old, who will be heading to California next January to start her freshman year at Pepperdine University.

University of North Texas senior Audrey Tan, making her second WAAP start, was the next best-placed Malaysian in T21 on one-under-par after a closing 74 - an improvement from her T31 finish last year in Abu Dhabi.

"I couldn't really get any rhythm going, so it was a bit of grind this whole week. But I take a lot of positives from this week; I got to play at this beautiful golf course in Thailand, and my putting helped me a lot," said Tan, who had her brother Bryan on the bag.

"I've learnt that I'm good enough to compete at this level, but at the same time I have a lot of work to do. I think it's amazing to have such a big event like the WAAP in this part of the world. It's defintely going to help grow the game here," added the 21-year-old.

Ng Jing Xuen, at 14 the youngest member of the Malaysian squad, closed strongly with a 69 to climb up the leaderboard into T25 place on even-par.

"I didn’t really do well on the first day because I was putting too much pressure on myself and had too much expectations. But from the second day onwards, it was quite good and I controlled my emotions better,"  said the rising young talent. who was playing in the WAAP for the first time.

Ng noted that she was impressed with the skills and mental strength of the leading players. "Their mental strength and skills are there. When they make mistakes, they still come back because they know they can do it."

Rounding off the Malaysian performances were Warda Amira Rawof in T27 place on one-over-par, and Zulaikah Nurziana Nasser who finished T48 on nine-over-par. Both players were making their debuts in the event.

This was the first time that all Malaysian players had made it to the weekend of the WAAP since the inaugural event in 2018. The best Malaysian performance remains the sixth place achieved by the country's current top woman amateur, Ashley Lau, at last year's championship in Abu Dhabi.

For more information, visit the championship website.

Round 4: Malaysian Scores & Rankings
T13 - 284 (-4) Liyana Durisic 66-74-72-72
18 - 285 (-3) Jeneath Wong 72-70-72-71
T21 - 287 (-1) Audrey Tan 72-70-71-74
T25 - 288 (E) Ng Jing Xuen 78-70-71-69
T27 - 289 (+1)  Warda Amira Rawof 70-72-72-75
T48 - 297 (+9) Zulaikah Nurziana Nasser 69-75-74-79