Yani the golfer to beat as tourney kicks off

The women golfers have tried their hands at making the wau (traditional Malaysian kite), played virtual golf and even tasted the “King of Fruits” – durian – since they arrived here this week.
But starting today, it will be down to serious business for the field of 72 golfers when the second edition of the US$1.9mil Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia gets under way at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
There is no shortage of big names to look out for on the course – with nine of the world’s current top 10 golfers in attendance.
Undoubtedly, though, all eyes will be on Taiwan’s Tseng Yani.
Yani already has nine titles under her belt this year, including six LPGA Tour victories – so much so that she has even been branded as the female version of Tiger Woods.
In fact, she has won five out of the last 10 tournaments she took part in and has also held the No. 1 position in the Rolex Rankings for 34 consecutive weeks.
The 22-year-old may be coming off agolf clubs for sale victory at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship in South Korea last week but she is not about to take her foot off the pedal here.
“Last week I won but that’s already passed. Now, I am looking forward to this week and trying to focus on doing the best I can,” she said.
“If I don’t play well this week, there is always the next week when I can play well.
“So the most important thing is that I do my best with every shot ... and I’m enjoying it on the golf course and having lots of fun. I think that is the reason I am playing so good this year.
“Coming here brings good memories as I won my first amateur title here. So, I hope to do well this year,” added Yani, who will be determined to banish the memories from the inaugural event last year where she could only finish in 41st spot.
It won’t be easy though as Seoul-born Jimin Kang, the lady with the perpetual smile, is determined to retain her title.
Jimin won the inaugural LPGA Malaysia last year by defeating LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Juli Inkster by a stroke.
The Korean, a two-time winner on the LPGA Tour, is coming off her best finish of the 2011 season – placing joint third at 11-under at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship last week.
Asked if she can pull it off again, Jimin gave a quick and confident reply: “I’ve got nothing to lose.
“I came out here to play golf and enjoy. So yeah, why not?”
She said that returning here brought back nothing but good memories.
“I’m just like anyone else. No one knew I was going to win, not even myself.
“All I knew was that I was playing solid and I was just very focused – shot by shot,” she recalled.
“After I saw my name in second spot on the leaderboard at the last hole, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I’m only one shot behind. I’ve really got to go for it.’
“I made my putt and Juli made a mistake and bogeyed.”
The rest, as they say, is history.

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