17 hours Ago By TAN MING WAI
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 2 Mirabel Ting staged a valiant comeback but agonisingly missed the cut at the Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) by a single shot on Thursday. The 19-year-old Malaysian bounced back with a solid four-under 68 in the second round at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Georgia.
However, the damage was done in her opening round, where a disappointing 76 left her just outside the 36-hole cut set at one-under 143. Only the top 30 players advanced to Saturday's final round at the iconic Augusta National Golf Club, which will host the Masters Tournament next week. Malaysia's campaign came to an end as Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific champion Jeneath Wong also fell short.
The 20-year-old carded a 74 for a three-over 147 total, missing the cut for the second time in as many appearances after also falling short in 2023. At the top of the leaderboard, world No. 1 and defending champion Lottie Woad of England shared the lead with American Kiara Romero at nine-under 135.
Mirabel, who was tied for eighth last year, admitted that the weight of expectations took a toll on her performance in the opening round. "I came into this tournament with a lot of expectations," she told the tournament's official website. "I think that is one of the biggest mistakes I've made.
I shouldn't have put so much pressure on myself and expected so much in this event." After the early setback (Wednesday's round), Mirabel put in extra hours on the practice range, and even sought advice from her swing coach in Thailand. She also leaned on mentor Michelle Koh, a Rio 2016 Olympian, who has been by her side this week.
She had an impressive second round, where she rediscovered her rhythm and confidence. "Today was a great round. I played more freely than yesterday, and scoring was much better," said Mirabel.
Despite missing the cut, Mirabel and Jeneath will still get to experience the famed Augusta National, as all ANWA participants are invited to play a practice round there on Friday — a tradition that continues to be a special moment for the field.© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd.
