Miranda Wang had a much different start to her 2024 season than most of her Epson Tour counterparts. The 25-year-old was given a sponsor exemption for the last two events of the LPGA Tour’s Asia swing: the HSBC Women’s World Championship and the Blue Bay LPGA.
The HSBC Women’s World Championship was Wang’s second career start on the LPGA Tour, with her first coming in 2023 at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. Playing on the LPGA Tour is a learning curve, one you need to figure out quickly if you want to continue to compete at the highest level. Luckily for Wang, her first two starts were both no-cut events, meaning she could experience the weekend at two Tour events before playing in the Blue Bay LPGA, a full-field event with a cut for the first time in her career.
The 2023 IOA Championship winner made a splash in the first round at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course, carding the second-best round of the day with a 6-under 66 to sit one shot off the first-round leader, Minjee Lee.
“The first round was my first time getting my name on the LPGA leaderboard. That day I just like I made every birdie chance on the back nine,” said Wang. “It was like my putting was really good. And also, my long game was feeling good. Actually, I was not feeling 100% with myself, but I was able to shoot 6-under in the first round. And that gives me some confidence. Like I'm capable of doing good on the LPGA.”
The second round was not as kind to Wang, who signed for a 6-over 78, but her 36-hole effort was still good enough to make the cut, however. And for the People’s Republic of China native, making her first LPGA Tour cut in her home country is as special as it gets.
“That feels pretty special because Blue Bay wasn't my first LPGA event, but it was the first time I played in a tournament with a cut,” explained Wang. “I was not thinking about the cut, especially after the first round. I already played pretty good, but it was pretty special. It was really cool.”
Now, she is back in the United States and heading into her sophomore season on the LPGA’s Official Qualifying Tour. The expectations are high for Wang, who finished No. 15 in the Race for the Card as a rookie, and in her first event back on the Epson Tour, she started her season with a T29 finish at the IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty.
There is a long season ahead and a lot of golf to be played, but don’t be surprised if you see Miranda Wang’s name in the top 15 in the Race for the Card at the end of the 2024 season. Confidence is key in golf, and there are few players with more confidence than her right now.
“I'm feeling pretty confident to achieve my goal of getting on the LPGA,” said Wang. “It's not a short season, and I have like 20 events to go, and I have to play every shot, like one shot at a time. My goal is obviously making it to the top 10. I know it’s 15 this year, but I still want to make it to the top 10. Pretty confident with that. But let's just go one shot at a time.”
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