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Womens Amateur Asia-Pacific
Young stars set to descend on New Zealand for the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship
16 Dec 25
5 mins
The best young talent in the region will descend on New Zealand for the eighth edition of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) championship at Royal Wellington from 12-15 February.
A total of 84 players from 28 countries are set to contest the championship which was developed by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) and The R&A to nurture talent and provide a pathway for the region’s elite women amateurs to the international stage.Defending Champion and top global talent
The 2025 champion, Jeneath Wong of Malaysia, will spearhead the strong field as she looks to retain the title she won in Vietnam in March. Wong shared her excitement about returning to the WAAP as the reigning champion. Wong said, “I’m really excited and grateful for the opportunity to defend my title at Royal Wellington. Any chance to return as a defending champion is special, and doing it at such a well-respected venue makes it even more meaningful. From what I’ve heard, it rewards strong ball-striking and smart course management, which suits my game well. I’m looking forward to the challenge and preparing myself as best as I can.”
Jeneath Wong of Malaysia will look to defend her Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship title when it is played at Royal Wellington from 12-15 February 2026.
She will be joined by 13 of the top-50 players from the World Amateur Golf Ranking® and 26 from the top-100, including world number 12 Soomin Oh from the Republic of Korea and world number 15 Rianne Malixi of the Philippines.
At just 18 years of age, Malixi has already recorded two top-five finishes in the championship and will make a record sixth appearance at the WAAP. Also playing for a sixth time is local favourite Vivian Lu of New Zealand, Singaporean Inez Ng and Rotana Howard of the Cook Islands, who returns after a year away due to giving birth to her first child.
At just 18 years of age, Malixi has already recorded two top-five finishes in the championship and will make a record sixth appearance at the WAAP. Also playing for a sixth time is local favourite Vivian Lu of New Zealand, Singaporean Inez Ng and Rotana Howard of the Cook Islands, who returns after a year away due to giving birth to her first child.
Soomin Oh of the Republic of Korea aims to be the first player from her country to win the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship when it is played at Royal Wellington from 12-15 February 2026.
Oh, who finished runner-up this year before going on to win low individual honours at the Queen Sirikit Cup, leads a strong contingent of six players from Republic of Korea who have each recorded a victory in 2025.
Oh will be joined by Sumin Hong and Yunseo Yang, the trio taking places two to four on this year’s WAAP leaderboard along with Seojin Park, Gyu Been Kim and Seo Jin Park, as each player looks to etch a Korean name onto the trophy for the first time.
Japan’s strength in depth is highlighted by five of its six representatives currently sitting within the top-100 of WAGR®. Mamika Shinchi (88), who returns for a fourth time following top-ten finishes in 2022 and 2024, is joined by fellow returnees Anna Iwanaga (24) and Aira Nagasawa (33) and debutantes Yurina Hiroyoshi (19), Ai Goto (52) and Tsukiha Nakashima (104).
Regional representation
Thailand will be spearheaded by Achiraya Sriwong, who at 30th in the WAGR® will be the best ranked Thai player in the field and Prim Prachnakorn who has recorded seven victories in 2025. They are joined by Kritchanya Kaopattanaskul, Pimpisa Sisutham and Nicha Kanpai. Alongside Lu, there will be a further eight players proudly waving the Kiwi flag, which sets a Championship record for the most participants from a single nation. At 53rd in the world, Eunseo Choi is its best ranked player but it will be Royal Wellington member Darae Chung who will have the local fans cheering. They will be joined by Emma Zheng, Teresa Wang, Juwon Kim, Chloe So, Cherry Lee and Caitlin Maurice, who travels home from St Andrews, Scotland to compete in the championship for the first time since her debut in 2021.
Host nation, New Zealand, will be well represented at Royal Wellington with a record nine Kiwis, including Eunseo Choi, teeing it up at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific championship.
Eunseo Choi said, "I always take pride in representing New Zealand and having the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific at home makes it so much more special. Being able to play in my home country and sharing the beauty of Aotearoa with the rest of the Asia-Pacific is such a privilege that I hold close and am incredibly proud of."
Other notables in the field include R&A Girls’ U16 Amateur Champion and Scotland-based Sabrina Wong of Hong Kong, China, Yujie Liu of China, who returns for a third time, as well as Raina Kumar of Fiji and Yanjinlkham Batdelger of Mongolia who will be the first players to represent their nations at the championship.
Fresh from their high-performance training camp at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Academy are Kumar, Xingtong Chen of Singapore, who finished tied 23rd this year, and Junia Gabasa of the Philippines who was 42nd, while Tyana Jacot of Guam, Margaret Lavaki of Papua New Guinea and Faith Vui of Samoa will be aiming to make the cut for the first time.