Wellington, February 15 – Guntas Sandhu braved the strong winds and carded a score of 77, which was 5 over par, at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) tournament, a day when scoring was particularly challenging.
This resulted in a total score of 4 over par for the four days, but the young star managed to finish in 20th place, which was the best among Indian players.
Her teammate, Ananyaa Sood (82), also struggled and ended with a total score of 14 over par, placing her in 42nd position.
Korean golfer Yunseo Yang successfully defended her title, defeating her compatriot Soomin Oh, and became the first Korean winner of the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP).
Yang, who skillfully coped with the strong southerly winds, finished with a score of 69, which was 3 under par, at Royal Wellington, the best round of the day, where only three players managed to score under par.
With a total score of 272, which was 16 under par, Yang finished eight strokes ahead of Oh, matching the WAAP's record winning margin set by Japanese golfer Yuka Yasuda in 2019. She is also the first player to win the championship after holding the lead after all four rounds.
Yang finished in fourth place in last year’s WAAP in Vietnam.
Thanks to her success, Yang has earned exemptions into three major championships in 2026 – the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, The Amundi Evian Championship in France, and the Chevron Championship in the United States – as well as a number of prestigious amateur events.
Yang’s victory ended Korea's winning drought in the region's pre-eminent women's amateur championship. Previously, Minsol Kim (2023), Hyosong Lee (2024), and Oh had all finished second.
