THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the Maybank Championship 2024. We have with us Malaysia's top female professional golfer Ashley Lau, and our top female amateur, Mirabel Ting.
First to both of you, you've been away from home for quite some time. What's it like to be home? Ashley?
ASHLEY LAU: Feels good to be home. I had -- my first meal back was Asam Laksa, so that was nice. Yeah, good to be home. I missed Malaysian food for sure.
MIRABEL TING: Feels great to be home, and especially I've been back last summer, but feels really good to be back again this week.
Like Ashley said, Malaysian food is always the best.
Q. You've had a pretty eventful season on the Epson Tour, of course culminating second place finish at The Tour Championship. Give us an idea what the whole year was like?
ASHLEY LAU: Yeah, I think just starting out the year obviously in Australia, it was a good few weeks. Struggled a little bit on Epson towards the start of the season, and then I think just slowly finding my way on the Epson Tour, and the last couple weeks I just kind of changed some techniques in my swing and I think that worked wonders.
Yeah, finished the season strong and looking forward to Q-Series. Hopefully get my LPGA card there.
Q. Mirabel, you've had a pretty decent year. First Malaysian to make the cut in the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Playing the Arnold Palmer Trophy as well. Back-to-back wins in the US collegiate circuit. Maybe just give us an idea what's been working well for you? Are you settling well to college life in the U.S.?
MIRABEL TING: I feel like I have a pretty good support system at home, being in Florida State. Yes, it feels really good to actually be the first Malaysian to make the cut in Augusta National this year, especially being able to watch one of my teammate win that tournament.
Feels like my game has been really solid throughout the year, and it's just the best place to be in Florida State. They've helped me throughout the years and coaches has been great.
Q. Ashley, what does it mean to you to be able to play in the Maybank Championship, in an LPGA event?
ASHLEY LAU: I think it's great. Maybank is bringing women's golf back to Malaysia. I'm sure, like Mirabel, too, we're very excited for this opportunity and honored to be here.
To be given this opportunity to be an invite to play this event, hopefully just kind of gives a path to my future. Hopefully I'll be out on the LPGA Tour and this is more like a beginning so just kind of need to get used to it.
Yeah, very excited.
Q. Mirabel, first time playing in an LPGA event with probably some of your idols.
MIRABEL TING: Yeah, this is my first LPGA event and probably the biggest one in my entire golfing career. It's something that it's at home as well and I'm able to play in front of my friend and family, which is going to mean a lot. Especially my grandfather is coming back up from Miri to come and watch me play this week.
So that's really sweet.
And yeah, brings a lot of the younger ones coming up that watch all of us play this week. I feel like the future of Malaysians will be a lot better.
Q. Question for Ashley. You've had quite an interesting year playing on the Epson Tour and also in the Olympics, being a flag bearer. Also coming here to play now. So how has it been?
ASHLEY LAU: It's been very adventurous I would say. I think Olympics was a nice little escape from reality. Yeah, just meeting other Malaysian athletes and being in the Village, I think that that was really cool.
Just I don't know, a lot of people, every time they ask me how was the Olympics, I just say, it's really cool. It's very hard to sum it up in words. Sometimes I still think about it and I'm like, was I really at the Olympics?
Yeah, it's really cool. I think that was a nice little break for me. Just, yeah, again, like I said escape from reality.
Back on the Epson Tour I had a little bit more of a fresh mind going into it. I think that may have helped how I finished up the season. I'm really happy that all clicked together.
Q. I'm sure you have played this golf course, so how do you think you will be able to fare this week?
ASHLEY LAU: I think last year was the first time I played this golf course, but with last year's experience it would really help this week. I just want to treat it as another tournament, not something special.
So that will probably be key, just trying to be patient and hopefully not give myself too much pressure playing in front of the home crowd.
MIRABEL TING: I think this is probably the third time that I played this golf course. I played the other golf course, the East golf course a lot of times, but I have barely played the West.
So it's pretty challenging to play the golf course, and especially it's so much different in Florida State and being at home due to weather, the course conditions is so much different, and the greens are so much different.
So like Ashley said, don't put too much pressure on ourself and just stay patient and play the game.
Q. Actually I would like to ask Ashley first. With your recent runner-up finish, more on a part on your game? What were the takeaways or the momentum that you wish to bring into this week?
ASHLEY LAU: I think from the Epson Tour Championship I was hitting my driver really good. I think I only missed one fairway the whole week.
That's a very good stat to bring into this week just because the fairways are really tight on the West.
And just make a couple putts. I think that's always a nice little thing to have.
Yeah, I think just driver and putting would be key this week for me.
Q. And for Mirabel, since it's just first LPGA debut, I'm sure that you played a lot of events on your collegiate season. How are you prepping yourself for this week?
MIRABEL TING: I think that's a pretty hard question actually.
THE MODERATOR: Did you do anything extra perhaps to prepare for this week?
MIRABEL TING: Definitely do a lot of wedges back in school, and short game has always been my weakness on the golf course, so have to -- coaches push a lot on my short game, especially wedges.
And I don't have any weaknesses on my long game because I strike the ball quite okay. I'm fine from tee to fairway and fairway to green. So it's just a little bit of missing the greens and making up and downs and keep the putter rolling.
Q. One more. Last question for both of you. I'm not sure if you guys both played on the same team since you're both from Sarawak. How does it feel to have both of you playing in in championship together like this?
ASHLEY LAU: No, I don't think I've been on the same team with Mirabel. She's a lot younger than I am. But I think kind of shows that Sarawak is doing something right to build up young talent. I think we were both on the SGA team since we were young, so kind of just shows they're doing something right, and yeah, I'm very glad to represent Sarawak out here.
MIRABEL TING: Yeah, Ashley is way older than me.
THE MODERATOR: Not that much. (Laughter.)
MIRABEL TING: So we basically didn't really play on the same team because our age difference is probably four to five years. I knew Ashley since I was very young and sometimes I do put her as my idol. To be able to play with her this week is going to be special.
And for the both of us to represent Sarawak at the same time, I think the both of us will be really proud.
Q. Yeah, I have a question for each of you. Hi, Ashley?
ASHLEY LAU: Hi.
Q. I was going to ask about the Epson Tour, the developmental tour before the LPGA. How do you think your time on the Epson Tour has and will prepare for this week?
ASHLEY LAU: I think it's great. Epson is a good steppingstone to the LPGA. Just being on Epson for two years now, we have really good players on the Epson Tour. It's very competitive out there.
So I think it's good for me to play on Epson and then come here. So I think it's a really good -- it has been a good experience, and I think that experience will really help this week.
Q. Mirabel, being surrounded by so many LPGA players this week, anyone you're looking forward to seeing out around, dining, locker room, or just on the course?
MIRABEL TING: Most probably Rose. I would say. (Off mic).
Yeah. Didn't know that. I just knew she withdrew right in this second.
THE MODERATOR: Any players you look up to in particular that are in the field this week?
MIRABEL TING: I think there are too much of them.
Q. Maybe what are you looking to kind of notice from LPGA players this week in their practice or preparation or how they carry themselves out at on LPGA event?
MIRABEL TING: Probably the way they practice, warmup session, preparation, and the way they handle themself on the golf course is something I would want to learn this week. So I think that's more to towards learning from them and taking away lessons from this week.
Q. Just like to ask both of you. I know you said you're going to go out there and enjoy yourselves and not, you know, like -- you're obviously going to do your best to not play under pressure and all that. But from the layman's point of view, mine included, with Kelly Tan and Alyaa not here, actually the spotlight from a Malaysian perspective will be on the both of you. Now, I want to ask you: Do you feel like extra or some sort of extra pressure because of that? And that's why the two of you are sitting there, is because the spotlight is on you.
ASHLEY LAU: I think there is definitely a lot of pressure, at least for me. I don't want to say for Mirabel. I think just with the two of us up here, there is a lot of pressure, a lot of eyes on us, but I'm going to try not to -- kind of block that out and just focus on what I have been doing and what I do.
So that's going to be -- I was walking down and I didn't know they put my poster up, so I was just looking at my poster and trying to figure out why I'm on there. But I guess I'm good enough to be on there, so I'm going to trust my abilities and just kind of block that pressure out.
MIRABEL TING: Yeah, definitely a lot of pressure this week, especially being at home. Not just at home, that we want -- I think both of us want to perform well in this big stage, especially it's an LPGA event.
You know, just have to keep doing what we are doing on the golf course, stay patient, and just keep going and do what you can on the golf course. Block it aside and just let the result go by itself.
Q. Ashley you were saying you didn't realize about the poster thing and why. I can tell you why. It's because you're a good player and you're a Malaysian Olympian. And Mirabel, you're poster is going to be there next year, so you just be keep at it.
So for Mirabel and Ashley, the weather has been like crazy for the last two, three weeks here. What kind of weather you both are expecting here and in case goes like crazy, what are the contingency plans or what kind of plans?
ASHLEY LAU: Yeah, it's been really hot. At least I don't think it's that hot in the States, so I'm trying to get used to the weather here. Trying to hydrate a lot before the tournament even begins.
That's going to be key. I think just at least for me, having an umbrella out there would really help. I think at the Epson Tour Championship we were playing at 46 degrees, so I think that's a good preparation for me to be out here.
MIRABEL TING: I just recover from hurricane, so, yeah, just kind of -- when I came back home and saw the weather was 33 degrees and four days ago I was just 6 degrees in Florida. I'm not used to this but just trying to get used to it. Stay hydrated. Have more electrolytes in my body and definitely drink more water and definitely carry umbrella.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you everyone, and good luck to the ladies. Thank you for being here.
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