Kiwi stars inspired for WAAP tournament
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
A record 11 New Zealand players will tee off at Royal Wellington Golf Club in the eighth Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship, with Darae Chung revealing she sought advice from Kiwi legend Lydia Ko ahead of the prestigious championship.
Chung, a Royal Wellington member who has played the course since she was 12, recently reached out to Ko - an LPGA Hall of Famer and 2024 Women's Open champion - about handling the pressure of competing in front of a home crowd.
LATEST HEADLINES:
"I actually took the initiative to message Lydia about a week before coming out here," Chung said at the pre-championship press conference.
"She advised me to stick to my process and to really focus on myself. She said you’re your own best friend, and how you talk to yourself, how you carry yourself on the course, is really crucial to your performance.
“So it was awesome to receive a message back - she's just really cool like that.”
The advice resonates as New Zealand fields its largest-ever contingent at the championship, which offers the winner life-changing opportunities including starts in three major championships—the AIG Women's Open, The Amundi Evian Championship and The Chevron Championship—as well as an invitation to the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
Leading the New Zealanders is top-ranked Eunseo Choi, making her fourth WAAP appearance and riding strong form after a 13th-place finish at last year's championship in Vietnam.
"It feels so great to be playing at home in Aotearoa," said Choi.
"I've been telling a lot of people how amazing it is, so it's great to be playing here and representing New Zealand."
Vivian Lu will make history this week, competing in her sixth Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific - a new record for most appearances at the championship.
"I'm really excited to play this championship at home for the first time," Lu said.
"It's really good to be at home on home soil with home crowds, so I'm really excited to get going."
For Caitlin Maurice, who is now studying at the University of St Andrews in Scotland after a decorated college career in the United States, the chance to return home carries special significance.
"Living overseas over in Europe it's really fun to come home and play with the other Kiwi girls, be back around staff and people I know and get to play in front of family and friends," Maurice said.
The players acknowledged the growing profile of women's golf in New Zealand and the importance of inspiring the next generation.
"I think women's golf has grown a lot over the past few years and it would be amazing to have a New Zealand winner to push the game forward and get more girls into golf," Maurice said.
"It's so cool how much good media there has been around this championship, all the volunteers and support. The fact that everyone from New Zealand knows this championship is happening is really cool."
Chung agreed, highlighting the unique atmosphere created by home support:
"I think it's always exciting to have people out just watching you. One of the most exhilarating feelings is making a putt and everyone clapping for you and cheering for you. You'll never forget that feeling."
The championship has attracted significant public interest, with Royal Wellington targeting 10,000 spectators across the four-day event. The club has established the 'Royal Village'—a dedicated spectator hub offering food, beverages, and family activities to create a festival atmosphere.
Yesterday, New Zealand players joined international competitors for promotional activities around Wellington, including photos at the iconic WELL_NGTON sign and visits to the Cable Car lookout, showcasing the capital city to players from across the Asia-Pacific region.
The championship field includes defending champion Jeneath Wong of Malaysia, who will play alongside Choi and Korea's Soomin Lee, the highest ranked player in the field, in tomorrow’s opening round.
Plenty of local eyes will be on 13-year-old Royal Wellington member Elise Barber who received a late wild-card into the Championship and will be the youngest player in the 84-player field.
She will hit the opening tee shot of the eighth edition of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific when play begins today at 10am, with the championship concluding on Sunday, February 15.