Leading Malaysian amateur Mirabel Ting closed her campaign at the Maybank Championship with a joint 12th finish to earn bragging rights as the best-placed Malaysian for the week.
The 19-year-old carded a final round of two-under-par 70 for a four-day aggregate of 12-under-par 276, 11 shots behind winner Ruoning Yin of China and also achieving the best finish by a Malaysian in an LPGA event held in Malaysia.
Ting, who was grouped with compatriot Ashley Lau and 2023 Epson Tour Player of the Year Gabriela Ruffles (AUS), began her round from the first tee at the challenging West Course of Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC). She had a slow start, beginning with a streak of pars but finished her front nine with back-to-back birdies.
Nearing the end of her Sunday round, Ting had a shaky stretch with a bogey, birdie, bogey beginning from the par-four 14th.
However, the amateur closed her round on a high note with a birdie on the 18th which earned loud cheers from the local crowd.
"I got a little bit emotional back there, especially having everyone out here but not my dad," said Ting as she mentioned her late father, who was her pillar of support growing up.
"Having all this support and to be able to do this in front of a home crowd means a lot to me, my dad would be looking above me and I think he would be proud of me today," she added.
The Florida State University junior will be looking forward to what her spring collegiate season will bring in, as well as a consecutive ticket to the Augusta National Women's Amateur in the year to come.
"I'm hoping to play the Augusta National Women's Amateur next year again, but other than that, I just want to get on my spring season and enjoy with the teammates, my school, coaches, and just see what happens," she concluded.
Meanwhile, Paris 2024 Olympian Ashley Lau was the next-placed Malaysian, who secured joint 22nd position after signing a Sunday round of one-under-par 71 to finish with a 10-under-par tournament total.
"It's great exposure this week, and I'm always grateful to have the opportunity to be out here," said Lau, who successfully finished higher in the leaderboard compared to last year's T65 finish.
Already looking forward, Lau's next event will be the final stage of the LPGA Qualifying Series to be held in December.
"This week gives me the confidence that I can compete out there with the best players, knowing that I can do this will be part of the motivation," said the 24-year-old Epson Tour player.
China's world number four Ruoning Yin was crowned the 2024 Maybank Championship champion with a winning score of 23-under-par 265. Sealing the deal with a bogey-free 65 on the final day, Yin finished one shot ahead of overnight joint leader Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand. Korean Haeran Ryu who began Sunday as one of the joint leaders was one shot adrift of Thitikul and clinched third place.
"It was a tough battle out there, with how good Jeeno and Haeran were out there today, but they do bring out the best version of myself," said the former world number one.
Becoming the second player from China to secure an LPGA title in Malaysia, Yin shared how it felt to follow Shan Shan Feng's footsteps, who won LPGA titles back in 2016 and 2017.
"I saw her picture on the way to the locker and I know she won in 2016. I was thinking about if I'm able to join her, becoming the second Chinese player to win in Malaysia, and I'm happy to do that," Yin said.
Accumulating three wins so far in 2024, Yin will be joining the elite few who have also achieved multiple titles in the year, including world number one Nelly Korda (USA), Olympian gold medalist Lydia Ko (NZL), and last week's BMW Championship winner Hannah Green (AUS).
Malaysian ASEAN Qualifier and rookie professional Liyana Durisic posted an improved round of three-under-par 69 to move into 74th place on 17-over-par 305. Wrapping up the Malaysian lineup this week was Durriyah Damian in 76th place on 21-over-par 309.
