KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Ashley Lau secured the country's third consecutive representation in the women's Olympic golf competition, confirming her place in the elite 60-player field for the Paris Olympics.
The golf competition will be held at the iconic Le Golf National in Paris from Aug 7-10.
The 24-year-old Sarawakian, currently competing on the US second-tier Epson Tour, clinched the 50th spot in the final International Golf Federation (IGF) Olympic ranking on June 24.
She joins the likes of American duo Nelly Korda, defending champion, and Lilia Vu, as well as South Korea's Ko Jin Young in the prestigious event.
Ashley's qualification is remarkable, considering she wasn't close to qualifying at the end of last year.
A five-week run in Australia between January and February propelled her into contention.
She won two tournaments, the Vic Open and The Players Series Victoria and registered top-five finishes in three other events.
This led to her meteoric rise in the Women's World Golf Rankings, soaring from No. 571 to the top 300, a position needed to make the cut.
She is currently ranked No. 279.
Unfortunately, compatriot Natasha Andrea Oon was unable to secure a second quota for Malaysia due to an injury.
Despite earning her LPGA Tour card through an outstanding Epson Tour season last year, Natasha has yet to make a single start in 2024, leading to a drop in her ranking to No. 343 from No. 258 in October last year.
The last time Malaysia had two representatives was at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when Kelly Tan and Michelle Koh competed.
Kelly went on to participate in Tokyo 2020, finishing tied-34th with an impressive final round of 64.
With Ashley now confirmed, Malaysia's contingent for the Olympics stands at 22 athletes.
Ashley is the second Malaysian golfer to qualify after Gavin Green made the cut for the men's competition last week.