Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The stage is set for an intriguing clash of rising talents and established players from across the region in the inaugural Maybank Championship ASEAN Qualifier.

Teeing-off at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club’s (KLGCC) West Course today, the 35-player field comprises professionals and leading amateurs from the ASEAN region.

The top-five finishers in the 36-hole event will earn starts in the LPGA Tour’s US$3 million Maybank Championship at KLGCC from October 24-27.

Thailand leads the international count with eight players (seven professionals and one amateur), followed by Indonesia with seven (five professionals and two amateurs).

Thai Wassawan Sangkapong is the highest ranked professional in the field with a Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking of 472, while Indonesian Kristina Natalia Yoko is 265th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

Joining them is Singapore’s Chen Xingtong, who made headlines last month by becoming the youngest winner of the Singapore Open Amateur Championship at age 15.

Hosts Malaysia boast the largest contingent with 19 entries, comprising 11 professional golfers and eight of the nation’s leading amateurs.

The professionals include experienced campaigners Aretha Pan, Dianne Luke, Genevieve Ling, Michelle Koh and Nur Durriyah Damian, along with Singapore-based teaching professional Shareen Lai who, at age 46, is the oldest player in the field.

They will be joined by the next generation of Malaysian professionals comprising Jocelyn Chee, Lana Aswadi, Nur Syazani Amalia, Geraldine Wong and Qistina Balqis.

The Malaysian amateur line-up includes teenager Ng Jing Xuen, winner of the women’s individual gold medal at last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia, and a bronze medallist at the recent SUKMA Games in Sarawak.

Attention will also focus on Winnie Ng Yu Xuan, who has been on a hot streak recently with victories in the Malaysian Ladies Amateur Open, RSGC Ladies Amateur Open and the ladies’ event of the Supra Cup on the domestic professional circuit.

Malaysian Liyana Durisic, fresh off a standout senior year with Iowa State University on the US collegiate golf circuit, is the highest-ranked amateur in the field at 129th position on the WAGR.

Rounding off the Malaysian challenge are amateurs Pang Hee Jie, Alya Afza, Zulaikah Nasser, Allycia Gan and Tan Ying Ying. Born on July 20, 2009, 15-year-old Tan is the second youngest player in the field.

Last year’s Maybank Championship saw a star-studded cast of LPGA players showcase their skills at KLGCC, culminating in an epic nine-hole play-off won by France’s Céline Boutier over Thailand’s Atthaya ‘Jeeno’ Thitikul.

The 78-player field for this year’s edition is expected to include Boutier and Atthaya, along with Paris Olympics gold medallist Lydia Ko of New Zealand and world number one Nelly Korda of the United States.

Aligning this year with the richest LPGA Tour event in the region is the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) Conference.

Featuring a high-profile line-up of speakers, the Conference will take place on October 23-24 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre, within the grounds of the KLGCC.

*For further details on sponsorship packages and registration for the 2024 Asian Golf Industry Federation Conference, please email gm@agif.asia