Rianne Malixi, coming off a breakthrough victory in Australia, is poised for another shot at golfing glory as she gears up for the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship unfolding on Feb. 1 in Thailand.
Despite facing a stellar field of competitors, the Filipina ace remains unfazed, ready and eager to showcase her skills at the Siam Country Cluc’s Waterside course in Pattaya.
The sixth edition of what has become the region’s premier ladies amateur championship features a formidable roster of international rising stars. Joining Malixi are three other talented players—Japan’s Mamika Shinchi, India’s Avani Prashanth and Eunseo Choi from South Korea.
Malixi and Shinchi, both 16, split the premier titles Down Under recently in come-behind-fashions with the former rallying from four strokes down to snare the Australian Master of the Amateurs crown. The latter overhauled a six-shot deficit then out-dueling local ace Amelia Harris to secure the Australian Amateur title.
The 17-year-old Prashanth, the reigning Queen Sirikit Cup individual winner at Manila Southwoods last year, and Choi, who posted two victories in 2023, add further depth to the competition. Choi, also 17, finished ninth in Australian Masters of the Amateurs and placed third in the Australian Amateur.
Reflecting on her success Down Under, Malixi expressed her happiness and gratitude for the experience.
“To win in Australia, I feel very happy. I’m grateful for the experience,” said the ICTSI-backed shotmaker, who also emphasized her history of performing well in Thailand.
But Shinchi, Prashanth and Choi are also all primed up for battle, ensuring a fierce, spirited chase for the crown in the championship where the winner will earn invitations to play in three major championships—the Women’s Open, the Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship.
Also up for grabs are berths in elite championships such as the Hana Financial Group Championship, the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, the 121st Women’s Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Representing 22 countries and territories, the event will also welcome first-timers like Samoa’s Faith Vui, who won the New Zealand Women’s Amateur trophy last year, Harmonie Yin from Cambodia and 12-year-old Sabrina Wong from Hong Kong, the youngest player in the fold.
The WAAP has produced notable championships in the past, including now world No. 10 Thai Atthaya Thitikul, who topped the inaugural staging of the WAAP in 2018 in Singapore, and Japanese Yuka Yasuda, who reigned in the second edition at home at the Royal Golf Club in 2019.
Mizuki Hashimoto, also from Japan, emerged victorious in 2021 in UAE following a two-year hiatus due to pandemic while Chinese Taipei’s Ting-hsuan Huang captured the crown in 2022, also at the Siam Country Club.