Kuala Lumpur: While her heart leapt a few feet when she exchanged pleasantries with her idol Paula Creamer at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club driving range on Tuesday, youngster Sarfina Vinota Seretharan remains grounded as she prepares to tee-off at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia tomorrow.
As she heads out for the first round of the US$1.9 million LPGA tournament alongside the East Asian duo of Mika Miyazato and IK Kim at 0838 tomorrow, the 16-year-old amateur will be taking a big stride in a dream journey that will hopefully culminate with her becoming a full-time LPGA member.
But for the time being, the youngster is just soaking in the environment and hoping to gain as much experience as possible from her debut at the prestigious event, having earned a sponsor’s exemption for her runner-up effort in September’s national qualifiers.
“It’s been a really fun week so far and even awesome experience to share the same space with some of the world’s top golfers. It’s a big step up for me because almost a year ago, I was watching them play and here I am teeing off alongside them!” exclaimed Sarfina.
The Form Four student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Yarl admits that excitement rather than expectation is going to be her biggest hurdle this week as she plays in here first professional event.
Luckily, Sarfina can bank on the experience of PGA Tour Academy director of instruction Shane Gillespie, who will be caddying for her this week. “When Shane offered to caddy for me, I was surprised but grateful at the same time. I understand the enormity of this occasion and I’m also well aware that it can get the better of me when I’m on the teebox tomorrow. He has really helped me in preparing mentally for this tournament, how I go about doing things and most importantly, helping me stay relaxed and focused,” added Sarfina.
“I’m really looking forward to the challenge this week. The course is playing a bit long for me, so my short game will have to be perfect this week. No matter what, I’m just going to try my best,” she noted.
Seasoned national Aretha Pan Herng will be making her third consecutive appearance and the 18-year-old Sabahan is gunning for improvement as she attempts to claim the best amateur prize, twice won by her compatriot Kelly Tan in the last two editions.
“I am more calm and comfortable with the environment and have less trepidation of playing alongside the top stars of the LPGA,” admits Aretha, who finished 67th last year and 57th in 2010.
Despite only having one practice round after returning from the World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo trophy in Turkey, the 2012 Malaysian Games (SUKMA) gold medallist is confident of making an impact in the third edition of the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.
“I have set myself a high target of finishing inside the top-30 but if not, I will be more than pleased to be crowned as the top amateur,” shared Aretha, who will have the company of Thailand’s highly rated amateur Ariya Jutanugarn , Chinese Taipei duo Ssu-chia Cheng and Min Lee as well as Sarfina in the amateur race.
