PETALING JAYA: National No 1 women's golfer Kelly Tan has vowed to continue knocking on the door of a breakthrough victory on the LPGA Tour after seven dry seasons.
Even after marrying her long-time partner Dustin Lattery in December last year, the Batu Pahat-born insisted that she still has fire in her belly to become the first Malaysian to win on the LPGA Tour.
Kelly, 30, came closest last year when she finished runner-up with Matilda Castren of Finland in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Michigan.
Although it was played in a team format, the tournament was considered a tour event.
Kelly will start her eighth season at the LPGA Drive On Championship in Arizona from March 23-26.
"I'm still Kelly Tan, and I'm going to continue playing competitive golf and representing Malaysia," said Kelly after attending the 'Up Close & Personal with Kelly Tan', organised by the Youth and Sports Ministry at the Kelab Golf Negara Subang here today.
Kelly's ultimate target is none other than making the country proud by winning a title on the LPGA Tour.
But to get to the finish line Kelly must keep chalking up top-10 finish consistently and getting herself accustomed to contending on the final day.
"It is all about consistency. It is not so much about improving my strength or physicality. A lot of it is mental," she said.
"The more I put myself in that position (to fight for title), the more comfortable I will get. Once I do that, it will be easier to get the job done.
"If you track back the first-time tour winners, you would notice that most have come a long way. They finished consistently in the top 20s, top 10s and top fives before getting there."
As for the new season, Kelly has her sights on a top-30 finish in this year's Race to CME Globe as she seeks to build on the encouraging momentum from last season.
Kelly finished 67th in the Tour's season-long points competition to retain her full status but fell short of securing a place in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
Only the top 80 get to keep their playing privilege.
"While winning the first LPGA Tour event remains my biggest ambition, I do have my mini goals as well. This year, I hope to improve on my 67th overall position last year and break the top 30," she said.
During Tuesday's event, which was also graced by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, Kelly shared her inspiring story of being the sole Malaysian LPGA Tour representative with 52 budding golfers from the SportExcel, MYGM Academy and MyFutures Junior Tour.
"With Kelly back in the country for a break, we took this opportunity to invite her to this clinic," said Hannah.
"I believe the nation's most successful athletes can be a source of inspiration for young athletes.
"So it will be good for them to get up close and interact directly with the national top athletes."