Amateurs on the rise with WAAP success

The region's top women amateur golfers, including Thailand's Prim Prachnakorn and Achiraya Sriwong, Malaysia's Jeneath Wong and Korea's Oh Soo-Min, do not need to look far for inspiration when they reach the crossroads of when to turn professional.

- CHUAH CHOO CHIANG

Prim Prachnakorn, left, and Achiraya Sriwong.

(THE R&A)

A glance at the final 2025 Women’s World Golf Rankings and LPGA Tour points list reveals the same name at the very top, one that has been on the lips of everyone who follows the women’s game closely.

Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul was the standout performer last year, cementing herself as the planet's best women’s golfer after a stunning rise, and fittingly, her roots trace back to the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship (WAAP), whose eighth edition tees off at Royal Wellington Golf Club in New Zealand tomorrow.

Jeeno embodies the strength in depth of women’s golf across Asia-Pacific. Seven players from the region sit inside the world’s top 10 and 30 feature among the top 50. The bubbly Thai has often hailed the WAAP as the launchpad for a burgeoning career that now includes seven LPGA victories.