PATTAYA, Thailand – After her historic feat last year in the United States, Rianne Malixi hopes to bring home a Southeast Asian Games gold medal this time at the head of the national golf team competing in Thailand.
Malixi is joined by Junia Gabasa and Grace Quintanilla in the women’s side while Chris Remata, Rolando Bregente, Perry Bucay, and Shinichi Suzuki comprise the men’s squad in the individual and team events starting on Thursday at the Siam Country Club.
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The members of the golf team are coming off huge achievements.
The 18-year-old Malixi, winner of the US Girls Junior and Women’s Amateur in 2024, finished second in the individual event of the World Amateur Team Championship in Singapore last October where she shot a nine-under par 279 total, only four shots behind winner Ying Xu of China.
The men’s team, on the other hand, ruled the Putra Cup last November at the Luisita Golf and Country Club.
Malixi is competin in third SEA games, and will look to surpass her 2021 achievement when she took the bronze medal in the team event with Lois Kaye Go and Mafy Singson.
“We are very confident in both our women’s and men’s teams to win medals,” said National Golf Association of the Philippines president Bones Floro. “We were able to keep the same players from our recent successes namely champions at the Putra Cup for the men and seventh in the World Amateur Team Championship with Rianne finishing second individually as well.
“They are all very close, work very well together, all in good shape and very excited to once again do our country proud,” said Floro.
The last gold medal for Philippine golf was when Bianca Pagdanganan won the women's individual and team gold with Go in 2019 at the Luisita Golf and Country Club.
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