Rising star Malia Nam puts LPGA Tour on notice with latest result

It had been some time between top 25's for LPGA Rookie, Malia Nam. In her most recent start, though, she seems to have found both her swing and footing. At the annual Portland Classic, the young player had her best finish on tour. She finished in a tie for 14th. Nam averaged 5.25 birdies through all four rounds.

She earned her tour card this season by tying for 23rd at the LPGA Qualifying Series. The result at the Portland Classic was her best finish since the Seri Pak Championship in March where she tied for 22nd place. At the championship, she held a 1 shot lead after the first two rounds.

Nam talked to reporters about the feeling she had when seeing her name on the leaderboard in only her second career tournament at the Seri Pak. "It's definitely a pretty surreal feeling seeing my name on the top of the leaderboard, especially with all the best players in the world." Nam said. "I always knew that I could play out here, but I didn't expect it to be so quick to see my name up on the top of the leaderboard."

Malia Nam ranks 116th on the Tour's money list this season.

The rookie currently ranks seventh on tour in average driving distance at 274.21. She also ranks 25th on tour for both eagles (with five) and greens in regulation (70.52%). The top 25 finish in Portland saw her climb just outside of the top 100 in the Race to CME Globe. Malia currently sits in 108th place.

In addition to her Portland Classic finish, Nam had her lowest round of the year at the Dana Open in July. During the third round, she posted 64, before eventually tying for 38th.

For Nam, her performance at the Portland Classic should help her to build momentum for the rest of the 2024 season. An impressive top-25 finish at either the Scottish Open or AIG Women's Open could give her strong momentum to take into 2025 and beyond as she looks to contend for titles on tour for years to come.