Golf: Avani finishes 10th as Chinese Taipei’s Chun-Wei wins Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific title

Avani Prashanth, India’s only player in the world’s Top-50, finished tied for 10th place as the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship came to an end here on Sunday. Avani carded 1-under 71, her fourth successive under-par round. Put alongside 68-69-71 she totalled 9-under 279 for a share of 10th spot.

Saanvi Somu (73), the other Indian golfer to make the cut, finished tied 48th in her debut appearance in the event, where the winner gets a spot in three Majors.

Avani had three birdies and two bogeys in the final round.

She said, “I missed a lot of chances, but the positive is that I could still get 9-under without my ‘A’ game. The first 36 holes (7-under) I played great but the last 36 (2-under) was disappointing.”

Chinese Taipei’s Chun-Wei Wu survived a tense final round to pull off the biggest upset.

A modest 264th in the World rankings, the 19-year-old endured moments of high stress before completing a wire-to-wire success at Siam Country Club’s (SCC) Waterside Course, upstaging a star-studded line-up.

Struggling to find the free-wheeling form she displayed over the first three days, Wu closed with a nervous even-par 72 to secure a victory that will catapult her into the global spotlight in 2024.

After feasting on birdies for the first three days, it proved tough for Wu to get over the finish line.

Four shots clear of the field following the opening 54 holes -– during which she dropped only one stroke -– Wu wobbled with four bogeys on a final day rollercoaster ride.

With her lead reduced to a single stroke after 14 holes of the final round, Wu displayed her mettle, digging deep to make crucial birdies at the 15th and 17th, where she began celebrating even before her 28-footer reached its intended target.

“Incredible! This is the first time I’ve won a big tournament,” said Wu, whose 72-hole aggregate of 18-under-par 270 was two strokes clear of runner-up Hyosong Lee, the 15-year-old Korean.

Achiraya Sriwong was a further stroke back in third after a 66, the best round of the final day, with fellow Thai Pimpisa Rubrong, fourth on 14-under-par 274. Rianne Mikhaela Malixi of the Philippines and Korean Minsol Kim ended joint fifth on 13-under-par.

As well as bettering the previous best WAAP winning total of 272 set by Mizuki Hashimoto at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2021, Wu is only the second champion to lead on all four days, following Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul in Singapore in 2018. Earlier in the week she also set new championship records for best 36-hole score (132), best middle 36-hole score (131) and best 54-hole score (198).

In addition to winning the Rae-Vadee T. Suwan Champion’s Medal, Wu will be rewarded with starts in three major championships in 2024 - the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, the Amundi Evian Championship in France and the Chevron Championship in the United States of America.

Furthermore, she’ll receive invitations to several other elite championships including the Hana Financial Group Championship, ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, The 121st Women’s Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

This week’s starting line-up consisted of 90 players representing 22 countries and territories. Among them were ten of the top 50 and 21 of the top 100 in the latest WAGR standings.

In the first five editions of the WAAP, players from Thailand (Atthaya Thitikul and Galitsky), Japan (Yuka Yasuda and Hashimoto) and Chinese Taipei (Huang) held aloft the trophy.