IT was not the kind of start Rianne Malixi had in mind. But after the first round on Thursday where she shot a one-over-par 73, her focus will be on making the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Georgia.
Malixi, one of the favorites in the tournament, had two bogeys and one birdie in her round and is tied for 40th, eight strokes behind co-leaders Maria Jose Marin of Canada and 17-year-old Korean Soomin Oh, who each fired bogey-free, seven-under 65s.
READ Malixi finishes third as Yang runs away with Asia Pacific title
Only the Top 30 after 36 holes advance to the final round of the 54-hole event which will be played at the famous Masters course on Saturday.
Malixi had a birdie on the par-5 third hole, but after pars on her next nine holes, she bogeyed the 13th. She dropped another shot on the relatively easy par -5 18th when she incurred a penalty on her second shot. She had a chance to save par with a gritty approach inside 10 feet, but her putt lipped out.
It was a disappointing day for the country’s bet in one of the most prestigious tournaments in women’s amateur golf coming as it does after a string of successes following her first year at Duke during which she won her first college tournament. She also tied for third at the Asia Women’s Amateur Championship last January.
Last year, again as one of the favorites, she withdrew after a back injury. She missed the cut in her first try there in 2024, the year she won both the U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Women's Amateur.
Malixi’s poor game, by her standards, was baffling as nearly half the field went around the course breaking par. The day’s scoring average was 72.22, the lowest in the history of the event.
Nine players played bogey free, a record, while 31 players broke par, also another record.
Malixi is now facing the daunting task of just making the cut in the tournament which she badly wants to win. As for her title hopes, she probably can kiss it goodbye unless the gods of golf make the impossible possible.
Meanwhile, Marin and Soomin Oh, the latter in the same flight as Malixi, were a stroke clear of three players who shot six-under 66.
Oh had five birdies in her first nine holes, including three straight from No. 7, and had two more, including on the 18th, where she two-putted for birdie to share the lead with Marin.
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