Ashley Lau (born 18 March 2000) is a Malaysian professional golfer. An Olympian, she competed in the women's individual event at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She also competed on the Epson Tour and WPGA Tour of Australasia. She was the flag bearer of Malaysia at the 2024 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.
Ashley Lau Jen Wen | ||||||||||||
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Personal information | ||||||||||||
Born | Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia | 18 March 2000|||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) | |||||||||||
Sporting nationality | Malaysia | |||||||||||
Career | ||||||||||||
College | University of Michigan | |||||||||||
Turned professional | 2022 | |||||||||||
Current tour(s) | Epson Tour WPGA Tour of Australasia | |||||||||||
Professional wins | 1 | |||||||||||
Number of wins by tour | ||||||||||||
ALPG Tour | 1 | |||||||||||
Achievements and awards | ||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Amateur career
Lau, born 2000, is from Bintulu in Sarawak, Malaysia. She became the first Sarawakian to top the national women's golf rankings, and later the first Sarawakian woman to turn professional.[1]
In 2015, Lau tied for 4th at the Australian Girls' Amateur. In 2016, she won the 2016 Katherine Kirk Classic and was runner-up at the Hills Australian Junior Championship. Lau tied for third at the 2017 Queensland Girls' Amateur Championship. In 2019, she was runner-up at the Orlando International Amateur Championship, and in 2021, runner-up at the Michigan PGA Women's Open.[2]
Lau represented Malaysia at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games, the 2018 Asian Games and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, securing a silver medal in the team event at the latter together with Natasha Andrea Oon.[3]
Lau attended the Hills International prep academy in Queensland, Australia. She enrolled at University of Michigan in 2018 and played with the Michigan Wolverines women's golf team until 2022. She earned WGCA First Team All-American Honors and was named Big Ten Golfer of the Year in 2022.[4]
Lau was on the winning international team at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup, and finished 3rd at the 2022 Ann Arbor's Road to the LPGA on the Epson Tour.[5]
Professional career
Lau turned professional in December 2022 and joined the 2023 Epson Tour.[5] In her rookie season, she recorded two top-10 finishes including a season-best 3rd place at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic.[6]
In February 2024, playing on the WPGA Tour of Australasia, she was runner-up at the Webex Players Series Victoria a stroke behind Kazuma Kobori, and won the Women's Victorian Open a stroke ahead of Jiyai Shin.[7][8]
A few months ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Lau sat 52nd in the qualification rankings, on course to represent Malaysia in Paris alongside Natasha Andrea Oon.[9][10]
Amateur wins
- 2013 Proton TSM Challenge
- 2015 Sarawak Amateur, AmBank SportExcel International Junior Championship
- 2016 Katherine Kirk Classic, AmBank SportExcel International Junior Championship
- 2018 RSGC Junior Amateur Open, Sarawak Amateur, FCG International Junior Championship
- 2021 Indiana Invitational
- 2022 Tulane Classic, Florida Gators Invitational, Indiana Invitational
Source:[2]
Professional wins (1)
WPGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 Feb 2024 | Women's Victorian Open | 68-74-69-66=277 | −12 | 1 stroke | Jiyai Shin |
Team appearances
Amateur
- Queen Sirikit Cup (representing Malaysia): 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
- Arnold Palmer Cup (representing International team): 2022 (winners)
Source:[2]
References
External links
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