For three days in August, 48 amateur golfers from 11 countries competed on RSGC’s East Course for the 49th RSGC Ladies’ Amateur Open Championship 2026. But the story of the Championship travelled much further than the fairways.
It began weeks before the first tee shot, as RSGC brought members of the media closer to the Championship and the Club. It continued as the players took to the course and their performances became stories carried across broadcast, print and digital platforms. And after the final putt had dropped, RSGC welcomed the media back — this time to say thank you.
It was a media journey that unfolded before, during and after LAO 2026. The Club’s own media monitoring subsequently identified coverage across a wide range of outlets and platforms throughout that period.
BEFORE THE FIRST TEE SHOT
The journey began on 15 July, when invited members of the media joined RSGC for a Media Social Game on the East Course ahead of the Championship Press Conference. It was more than an opportunity to brief the media about the upcoming tournament. By playing the course themselves, members of the media experienced the setting in which the Championship would unfold before hearing more about its history, international field and role in women’s amateur golf.
Representatives from Bernama, Astro Arena, TV3, Suara Merdeka, Kosmo and Media Mulia attended the Press Conference. In the days that followed, LAO began appearing beyond RSGC.
Pre-event coverage highlighted the Championship’s history, international character and role in developing women’s amateur golf. RSGC’s media monitoring identified coverage across outlets and platforms including Harian Metro, Suara Merdeka, the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, Astro Arena, The Malaysian Reserve, Utusan Malaysia and Madani News. Bernama also reported on the Championship following the Press Conference, highlighting its role as a platform for emerging women golfers and looking ahead to its Golden Jubilee in 2027. The story was already travelling, and the Championship had yet to begin.
WHEN THE CHAMPIONSHIP BECAME THE STORY
Following the official practice round on 3 August, competition began the following morning.
From 4 to 6 August, 48 players representing 11 countries took on RSGC’s East Course over three rounds.
By the final day, one name had emerged at the top of the leaderboard. Thailand’s Namo Luangnitikul, 17, completed rounds of 72, 70 and 73 for a four-underpar total of 215 to lift the Piala Tuanku Bahiyah. Malaysia’s Wang Xin Yao finished runner-up on 218, with Thailand’s Arisa Bintachitt third on 220. For Namo, it was a memorable first appearance at RSGC.
For the media, her performance provided the sporting story that carried LAO beyond the Club. Her victory appeared across multiple publications and platforms. RSGC’s monitoring captured postChampionship coverage through ParGolf, the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, Utusan Malaysia, Berita Harian, New Straits Times, The Star and Astro Arena, among others.
ParGolf reported Namo’s victory immediately after the Championship, while The Star subsequently carried the story under the headline “In-form Thai tops RSGC.” The Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, meanwhile, placed her achievement before an international golf audience, reporting her wire-to-wire victory and the strength of the 11-country field.
RSGC’s own digital channels told the story alongside the media. From the practice round through competition updates and the final prize presentation, the Club’s website and social media provided a continuing visual record of the Championship as it unfolded. The players had created the stories on the course. The media helped carry them beyond it.
AFTER THE FINAL PUTT
But RSGC’s media engagement did not end when the Championship did. On 19 August, the Club welcomed media representatives and sponsors back for its Media Appreciation Day — an occasion designed not to launch another tournament or announce another result, but simply to recognise the people and organisations that had helped tell the Club’s golfing stories.
The day began with breakfast at The Green, followed by a friendly golf competition on the East Course, lunch and a prize presentation. The occasion recognised media support surrounding two of RSGC’s major championships in 2026: the 11th RSGC Junior Invitational Golf Championship and the 49th RSGC Ladies’ Amateur Open Championship. For LAO, it completed a circle that had begun more than a month earlier.
The media had first come to RSGC before the Championship to experience the course and hear the story. They returned during and after the tournament to report what happened. On 19 August, RSGC brought them together once more — this time in appreciation of that support.
Organising Chairman Omar Salim summed up the relationship: “We sincerely appreciate the media’s continued support of RSGC and our golf championships. Your coverage helps bring the achievements of our golfers to a wider audience and highlights the importance of developing junior and women’s golf.”
The Media Appreciation Day was also an opportunity to connect beyond the usual tournament environment and strengthen relationships with those who help take RSGC’s stories to a wider audience.
BEYOND THE FAIRWAYS
A golf championship is ultimately decided by numbers on a scorecard. Its story, however, can travel much further. For LAO 2026, it travelled from a July morning with the media at RSGC, through three days of Championship golf in August, into newspaper pages, broadcasts, websites and digital platforms — and finally back to the Club for an afternoon of appreciation. And behind all those headlines remained the people who gave the media something worth reporting: 48 golfers from 11 countries who came to RSGC to compete.
Next year, the RSGC Ladies’ Amateur Open reaches a landmark 50th edition. There will be another field. Another Championship. Another winner. And another collection of stories waiting to travel beyond the fairways.
Selected media coverage from the 49th RSGC Ladies’ Amateur Open Championship 2026 follows on the next pages.
