The winner of Miss Indonesia 2012, Ines Putri Tjiptadi, is to replace crown and gown with golf clubs and caddie to compete in the Ladies Indonesia Open, which teed off in Jakarta yesterday.
The 23-year-old beauty queen is also a leading amateur golfer, winning the ladies Singapore amateur championship in 2010 and securing gold and silver medals in 2004 in Indonesia’s national championships.
She has been paired in the opening round with Australian star Stacey Keating, fresh from back-to-back Ladies European Tour wins, and Nontaya Srisawang from Thailand, who claimed the Thailand Ladies Open in February.
“I am very nervous as I have hardly played for the last five months. I just hope I don’t finish last,” Tjiptadi said, according to a statement from the event organizers.
“I have had a lot to do since winning Miss Indonesia in April, including competing in Miss World. I am just aiming to have fun this week and learn from some of the best players,” she added.
Tjiptadi is the first Balinese ever to win Miss Indonesia and she also made it into the top 13 at August’s Miss World in the Inner Mongolian city of Ordos in China.
Her golf career is on hold this year, but she plans to focus on it next season.
“There is so much I want to do with golf. I really want to help promote the sport in our country and show that it is not a game only played by wealthy people,” Tjiptadi said.
“I also want to get involved in television and host a golf show. However, playing is what I love and I would still like to turn professional in a couple of years,” she added.
The Enjoy Jakarta Ladies Indonesia Open is the most lucrative women’s national open championship in Southeast Asia, with the winner earning US$30,000.
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