12-year-old Glasgow golfer tees up in top amateur event in Thailand

Cathkin Braes member is youngest player in field for Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific event

Sabrina Wong plays a shot during practice prior to The Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship at Siam Country Club in Chon Buri, Thailand. Picture: Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images.

A 12-year-old from Glasgow is the youngest player in the field for this week’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) event in Thailand.

Sabrina Wong, who plays her golf at Cathkin Braes, is representing Hong Kong in the event, which starts on Thursday at Siam Country Club in Pattaya.

Last year Wong won the girls’ 11 age division of the US Kids Golf European Championship in East Lothian by 15 shots and the girls’ under-12 section of the Champion of Champions event in Northern Ireland by 12 strokes. In addition, she landed the under-12 title in the Scottish Girls’ Open and was runner-up in the under-14 competition.

“I’m very happy to be here. It’s much warmer than Scotland,” said Wong, who was born in Hong Kong before her family moved to Glasgow primarily to help her golfing development. “There’s a big difference between playing in Hong Kong and Scotland, where the wind is often quite strong and it rains a lot. I’m still learning. I’m just enjoying myself and playing whenever I can."

The winner of this week’s event, which is being staged for the sixth time, will receive exemptions for three of the women’s majors this year - AIG Women’s Open, Amundi Evian Championship and Chevron Championship.

Invitations will also be secured for the Hana Financial Group Championship, ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open, The 121st Women’s Amateur Championship and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

The WAAP championship was developed by The R&A and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) to inspire future generations of women golfers.