Pattaya, Thailand, February 1: Aloysa Atienza spearheaded the Singapore challenge at this week’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship by posting a first round two-under-par 70 for a share of 12th place on Thursday.
Atienza, who was named as the 2023 SGA Female Golfer of the Year, mixed four birdies against two bogeys at the Siam Country Club to trail early leaders Wu Chun-wei of Chinese Taipei and Thailand’s Navaporn Soontreeyapas and Eila Galitsky by three shots.
Inez Ng and Jaymie Ng returned with identical 73s to take tied-39th place while Chen Xingtong signed for a 76. Jillian Kuk and Passion Hsu, meanwhile, carded a 79 and 82 respectively.
The winner of the WAAP will receive exemptions into 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.
She will also receive invitations to a handful of other elite championships such as the Hana Financial Group Championship, ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, The 121st Women’s Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
The WAAP championship was developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) to inspire future generations of women golfers. The R&A is supported by championship event partners that share its commitment to developing golf in the Asia-Pacific.
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