Kota Kinabalu: Charlayne Chong finished third in the Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) Ladies Amateur Open which ended on Thursday.
Her one-under 218 total also missed the play-off by mere one shot from eventual winner Indonesian Bianca Naomi Laksono and Filipina Samantha Dizon.
The 23-year-old Sabahan, who just won the 48th Kelantan Amateur Open Golf Champion a week ago, continued her fine form on day one.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});She stunned the field with a 68 in the opening round to take the lead.
However, she faltered the following day with a disastrous 80, but managed to make amends on the final day with a 69.
Despite the below-par performance on day two, she said she never gave up.
“It was a bit of a bummer that my performance dipped on the second day after starting the tournament strong.
“I think I felt a bit of pressure and I just couldn’t find my rhythm. Still, I never lost hope. My main goal for this event was to apply what I learned from my previous tournament and to stay in control of my emotions and thoughts, lower my expectations, and take the pressure off.
“I’m proud to say I managed to achieve that goal and as a bonus, I managed to make a comeback and recover on the final day. I may have missed out by just one stroke, but I’m genuinely happy that I stayed calm and composed right up to the last hole.
“Although I was hoping to make the playoffs, I’ll take the result proudly as being able to bounce back meant a lot to me,” she said.
She also praised the organiser of the tournament and thanked her family, MGA (Malaysia Golf Association), sponsors and all those who have given her the support.