Nov. 9, 2017
San Jose, Calif.— Natasha Oon, one of the top young women's golfers in Malaysia, Samantha Bruce, another top girls golfers from the Philippines, and Antonia Malate, a recent conference medalist and top high school golfer in Monterey area, have all signed National Letters-of-Intent to compete with the San José State University women's golf program beginning with the 2018-19 school year, as announced by head coach John Dormann.
Oon, from Kuala Lumpur, is currently ranked #693 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and #4 in Malaysia. She qualified and competed as an amateur in the 2017 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia Tournament at the end of October. Oon made the cut after starting the tournament 72-73 and finished with a 73. She made it to the round of 32 at the 2017 U.S. Girls Junior Championship before falling in match play. Oon finished 40th at the 2017 IMG Junior World Championship at Torrey Pines this past July and won the 2017 Perak Amateur Open in Malaysia.
"Natasha, for being only 16-years old, is a very experienced player and has competed in major tournaments around the world. She is very consistent in all phases of the game. We look for her to be a leader on our team. She has a bright future in the game, and we are very excited to have her join our program," said Dormann.
Bruce, from Makati City, Philippines, qualified for the 2017 U.S. Girls Junior Championship after winning medalist honors in a qualifying tournament in Oregon. She was a member of the Philippine team that played at the 2017 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup. Bruce won the 2017 Faldo Series Philippines Championship for Girls Under-21. She will also be part of the lineup for the 12th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final to be played in Vietnam in March of 2018.
"Samantha brings extensive world-wide tournament competition and tremendous physical upside to San José State. Sam has competed throughout the United States and Asia. She is very athletic, strong and powerful. We believe Sam can develop into a top of the lineup player for us," stated Dormann.
Malate, from Seaside, Calif., plays for Robert Louis Stevenson High School and led her 2017 team to the Monterey Bay League Championship. She was also the medalist at this year's championship and is a four-year All-MBL honoree. Malate eagled her final hole of high school competition. This past summer, she qualified for the IMG Academy Junior World Championship and just missed the final cut to 40 players.
"Antonia has developed into one of the better 2018 local players. We are excited by the growth we have her over the past six months. Despite her stature (5'3"), Antonia has a powerful game, and we expect her to grow into a solid Division I player."
"We are extremely excited to sign Natasha, Sam and Antonia. They should be one of our best recruiting classes in the recent past," said Dormann.
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