Malaysia’s leading amateur Jeneath Wong will be aiming to make it to the weekend at this week’s AIG Women’s Open, the fifth and final women’s Major of the year which starts on Thursday at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales.
Wong will be making her third Major start of 2025, courtesy of exemptions from her gutsy victory at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship in Vietnam earlier this year. Having failed to make the cut at The Chevron Championship and The Amundi Evian Championship, the 20- year-old is hoping to round off her Major campaign on a high note. Wong also bowed out after 36 holes at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open, earning her start through a qualifying tournament.
“Porthcawl is a beautiful course and demands creativity for all shots from tee to green, especially around the greens. My main goal is to make the cut, so I’ll just focus on playing a consistent game,” said Wong, who was born in Kuala Lumpur and moved with her family to Melbourne, Australia, at age 10.
Having played links-style courses in Australia since her junior days, Wong is familiar with the type of shots needed to negotiate the windswept and well-bunkered Royal Porthcawl layout. The petite golfer may not be long off the tees but has a deft short game and strong mental resolve, attributes which served her well during her WAAP victory in March this year at the linksy Hoiana Shores Golf Club.
“It’s important to stay out of the pot bunkers and deep rough. Once you’re in a bunker, you can’t attack the green due to the depth and that will almost automatically cost you a shot,” noted Wong. “You have to play a totally different game on a links course, so I think it'll be really fun especially around the greens. Rather than always hitting a 60-degree, I’ll have to hit some bump-and-runs with a longer iron, just playing with the slopes to get my ball close to the hole, as well as just planning on how the ball is going to shape through the wind,” she elaborated.
The experience of playing in the Majors, Wong stressed, has done wonders for her self-confidence. “I think just playing with the best golfers in the world gave me confidence, to see that I'm up to their level. They still make mistakes like amateurs do, but seeing how they minimize it really opened my eyes, how they can just bounce back so quickly,” she said.
Having had a whirlwind, globe-trotting year so far, Wong is looking forward to heading back to the United States for her senior year with Pepperdine University in California. “I'm going to head back to the States after the AIG Women’s Open to get settled in and resume college, which starts in mid-August. I’m very excited to go back as a senior for my last year at Pepperdine, and to play my last few tournaments and graduate,” said Wong.
Wong tees off at 8.42 a.m. in Thursday’s first round of the AIG Women’s Open, grouped with Australia's Hannah Green and American Rose Zhang.
