Korea, a country that has dominated Women’s Amateur Golf in Asia Pacific for over a decade, finally has its individual champion at the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific (WAAP) and it arrived in emphatic style.
Eighteen-year-old Yang Yun-seo completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship on Sunday, closing with the low round of the day, a 3-under 69, to win by eight shots at Royal Wellington Golf Club.
Korea has been knocking on the door at WAAP. The last three editions produced Korean runner-ups, and this week the country made sure there would be no repeat. Yang’s win also underlined the depth of the Korean program, with all six Korean players finishing inside the top 10. Fellow Korean Oh Soo-min finished second for the second straight year at 8-under, while Seojin Park, Sumin Hong and Gyu Been Kim were all part of a dominant top-10 sweep.
Yang became only the third player to lead from start to finish in WAAP history, matching the tournament’s largest winning margin.
For India, the week had encouraging signs.
15-year-old Guntas Sandhu, who trains at the Roundglass Golf Academy in Chandigarh led the Indian contingent, finishing T 20 at 4 over after rounds of 71 73 71 77. 14-year-old Ananyaa Sood, playing her second WAAP, battled through to the weekend and placed T 42 at 14 over.
Sood trains at The Els Club in Dubai under Sujjan Singh at the Claude Harmon CH3 Academy and studies through the United States Performance Academy, a set up that continues to allow her to balance elite golf with academics.
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The other two Indians, 17-year-old Zara Anand of Noida, bound for Auburn University later this year, and 20-year-old Jia Kataria of New Delhi, a second year student at Dalton State University, missed the 36 hole cut. Zara Anand also finished 7th at the 2025 edition of the Queen Sirikit Cup in Japan.
India’s benchmark at the WAAP remains Avani Prashanth’s T-10 finish in 2024—the best result by any Indian at the championship. Avani, who is now playing her second straight season on the Ladies European Tour, also claimed victory at the 2023 Queen Sirikit Cup in the Philippines. It’s a target this young group will chase with determination.
Photo – Guntas Kaur Sandhu Instagram
