Rising Stars Gather for Defining Week in Wellington
History, youth and ambition converge as the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific returns
The eighth Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship tees off from 12 to 15 February at Royal Wellington Golf Club, bringing together 84 of the region’s leading amateurs from 25 nations for a week that promises milestones and momentum.
Already established as a pathway to the top level of the women’s game, the championship has helped launch the careers of players such as Jeeno Thitikul, Patty Tavatanakit, Yuka Saso and Grace Kim, and this year’s field again reflects the depth and diversity of emerging talent across Asia-Pacific.
Central to the narrative is Jeneath Wong, who arrives in New Zealand with the chance to make history as the first player to successfully defend the title and the first to win the championship twice. The Pepperdine University senior described the experience as “quite surreal”, admitting the memories of last year’s victory have come flooding back while stressing her desire to balance ambition with perspective.
Wong’s closest challengers include Soomin Oh, the highest-ranked player in the field at 11th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, along with Sumin Hong, Yunseo Yang and Australia’s Jazy Roberts, all of whom finished just behind the champion in Vietnam last year. Another strong contender is Rianne Malixi, the 18-year-old from the Philippines making a record sixth appearance after missing the 2025 edition through injury and now returning fully fit with a long-held goal firmly in mind.
Experience and youth meet throughout the field. Rotana Howard, 33, returns after becoming a mother, while 13-year-old Elise Barber will be the youngest competitor and enjoys the advantage of home knowledge as a member at Royal Wellington. There are also historic firsts, with Raina Kumar becoming the first Fijian to compete and Mongolia represented for the first time by Yanjinlkham Batdelger.
Developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific continues to offer tangible rewards, with the champion earning exemptions into the AIG Women’s Open, The Amundi Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship. For many in Wellington this week, those prizes symbolise not just opportunity, but the next step in careers already moving with purpose.