AROUND THE GREENS: A familiar face at two Calgary courses, Kelly Tan to represent Malaysia at Tokyo Olympics

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Kelly Tan will be more prepared for her second shot at Olympic golf glory.

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Because this time, she’s actually been able to tune up on the tournament course.

Tan, who proudly hails from Malaysia and has made Calgary her second home, arrived early at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. Except that her golf gear did not.

“It took them a good six days to locate my bag,” Tan recalled. “All the reporters from Malaysia, they were like, ‘Well, why aren’t you practising?’ I was like, ‘Well, my clubs are lost.’

“It was very, very stressful. I finally got my bag the day before the tournament. I didn’t really get to play a practice round. I just went out to play.”

Tan’s clubs must have arrived in Tokyo with zero issue. She shared a photo of her bag — featuring the Malaysian flag and the Olympics rings — on social media.

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Compared to her experience in Rio, this is like a birdie on the first hole.

The women’s golf competition, four rounds of stroke-play action at Kasumigaseki Country Club, starts Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. MT. Tan, who finished 51st in 2016, will tee off in the same group as Canada’s Alena Sharp.

“It’s always an honour to represent your country,” said the 27-year-old Tan prior to departure for Tokyo. “You know, I do that every week out here on the LPGA Tour because I’m the only Malaysian but still, Olympics is a big stage for sports. I’m super excited and I’m honoured and proud to represent my country.

“On the golf course, I don’t think the game-plan and preparation changes,” she added. “But off the course, we’re staying at the village and able to hang out with the Malaysian contingent. You get to meet the greatest athletes from all over the world. I feel like it’s just so cool being able to stay at the village and be part of that family. You get up at 4:30 or 5 a.m. to go for a run and it’s just such a healthy environment. You go into the gym and it’s the size of Walmart and you see varieties of workouts. Some people are lifting 300 lb. Some people are doing activation workouts.

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“So that part of it, I think, is different, being able to talk to other athletes about their sports, how they’re doing, being able to work out together. It’s such a cool spot for athletes, for sure.”

Tan hasn’t been back to Calgary for just over a year due her busy LPGA Tour schedule and the cross-border travel restrictions — “I miss it,” she said — but if you’re a regular at Bearspaw or Hamptons, you’ve probably spotted her in the past playing matches with her now-fiancé Dusty Lattery.

“When she is on, it’s just automatic — the ball is not missing the fairway, the ball is not outside of 10 feet,” said Sam Hart, the head professional at Bearspaw. “Her ability is off-the-charts.”

Coming off a breakout campaign in 2020 that included a handful of top-20 finishes on the LPGA Tour, she hasn’t been as automatic as she’d like this season.

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“It’s not the greatest momentum build going in,” admitted Tan, who was a three-time winner of the Malaysian Ladies Open before she turned pro. “I’ve been struggling a little bit with my ball-striking, where last year I wasn’t worried at all about my golf game. I was a lot more free on the golf course.

“This year, it just seems to feel like there are so many things on the line with the Olympics and more tournaments and major championships, and I just feel like I put a little more pressure on myself to be too perfect. I’ve definitely given myself a little too much pressure, and I’m trying to put that aside and just play golf really.”

Tan and Lattery have also been busy planning their special day. Shortly before her trip to Tokyo, she started her search for a wedding dress.

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“I’m not going to make a decision right away,” Tan said. “Kind of like a practice round.”

Those are always helpful.

CHIP SHOTS

Edmonton’s Braden O’Grady (Blackhawk) closed with a sizzling 64 en route to a one-stroke victory at the Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship at Calgary Golf & Country Club. The 17-year-old posted a three-day tally of five-under 205. “This will be a week I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he beamed afterward … Jade Carter (Pinebrook) finished 11 shots clear of the field at the Calgary Ladies Golf Association’s Junior Girls Open Amateur at Elbow Springs. Carter was oh-so-steady, shooting back-to-back rounds of five-over 77. Next up on the CLGA’s competitive calendar is the Senior Ladies Amateur at Sirocco, where everyone will be aiming to beat Kim Carrington (Cottonwood), who has now won the provincial senior crown five times over a seven-year span … Todd Halpen (Golfuture YYC) topped the heap at the PGA of Alberta’s Club Pro Championship at Hamptons, signing for a two-day tab of two-over 146 and defeating Darryl James (National Golf Academy at Shaganappi) with a birdie on the second playoff hole.