RIANNE MALIXI exudes confidence as she left for Malaysia Monday armed with a game she hopes would put her in equal footing with the top and rising players in the region in the Malaysian Amateur Open which unwraps Thursday in Johor Bahru.
“My preparations (for Malaysian Am Open) went well. I have been practicing a lot more in my putting, which was my main focus the past few weeks,” said the 15-year-old Malixi, seeking to cap a prolific season that saw her post two victories on the American Junior Golf Association Tour, win the Thai Junior World Championship and sweep all her three stints on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.
She, however, fell short of her bid for a seventh crown in the recent International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Villamor Match Play.
But the ICTSI-backed shotmaker, who also missed nailing the Thailand Amateur Open crown in sudden death and finished joint third in the Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific Championship, expects to come out of that setback a lot tougher and stronger, making her a top contender in this week’s battle.
“I’ve been stretching more than I work out just to avoid stiff muscles but I’ve gotten stronger in distance, hitting it 5-10 yards more,” added Malixi, who also graced a golf tournament and provided inspiration to the youngsters in Pampanga recently.
“It will be a fun week,” said Malixi, who will be playing in Malaysia for the first time in three years.