GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN | 20-year-old San Josè State alum Natasha Andrea Oon is recognized last week as the Juli Inkster Award winner presented by Workday, a title given to the highest-ranked D1 female golfer during her last year of eligibility.
"I'm really excited for Natasha. She's had a great career at San Josè State, my alma mater, and for someone to win the Inkster Award from my alma mater is special. I love kids to honor their commitment to their school and teammates and coaches, and Natasha came over here from Malaysia at 16 and went to school and graduated in three years," said World Golf Hall of Famer Julie Inkster, the award’s namesake.
Entering the third LPGA event of her career and the first one as a professional, Oon hopes to be the second Malaysian woman on the LPGA tour, following in Kelly Tan's footsteps.
“Just making my pro debut at an LPGA tournament is something not a lot of people get to say. I have Kelly Tan, a fellow Malaysian, and she's been out here for a while and really took me under her wing and just taught me a lot. In the practice round, she was mentoring me 100%," Oon said.
The recent graduate said she committed to San Josè State as a 15-year-old and knew she wanted to play for a California school because of the weather.
"I found out that my mom literally chased down a college coach. She was like, ‘Are you from California? Because, you know, my daughter, my daughter, my daughter!’ And he just watched me. So then I went and visited and was like, okay, cool," Oon said.
Since Malaysia's school system varies from the United States, Oon finished high school at age sixteen and went on to finish college in three years. After graduating college early, Natasha began a grad program but stopped to pursue professional golf.
"I think I just wanted golf as my job because I love it so much and liked practicing it, you know?" she said.
Her collegiate career was nothing short of astonishing. Oon was a two-time All-American, notching 22 top-10 finishes.
"I didn't think I would've done as well in college for sure. I didn't expect all of this to happen. Because I felt like my game just wasn't there. So when I went to San Jose, it was a little above me, but I pushed myself and as I was like, whoa," said the young star.
Natasha said after a solid first year at San Josè State, a stress fracture in her toe in 2020 crushed her dreams of playing in the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
"I cried in bed. I literally just binge-watched a lot of tv shows the first month. I didn't even touch a golf club. So my (World Amateur Golf) ranking was like 80. And then I didn't check it for five months. It was around 600," Oon said.
Injured during the COVID-19 pandemic, Natasha said she had no idea what she would be working towards, but she decided to work her butt off all summer to come back a stronger player.
"I got to think about golf differently because I used to be so scared to play sometimes. I felt like people expected so much of me, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, what?’ Then it was like, they're so lucky. They can go hit the ball. It was just different for me—a different type of hunger. I was giving myself six months to make it, but it was one tournament, and then boom, I'm back," she said.
Oon went on to receive a sponsor invite at The Chevron Championship this year, choosing it over playing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. In addition, her college performance secured the Inkster Award which has granted Oon exemptions into the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and the AmazingCre Portland Classic later this September.
After graduating from San Josè State and living in a "Harry Potter-sized bedroom in a house of six girls," Oon said she will try to get grounded in the professional environment, which she expects will be vastly different from being an amateur.
"I have no doubt that she will do amazing out here,” said Kelly Tan. “It's just a matter of being comfortable.
“I'm excited to be her big sister to help her and guide her through it all. When I first came out here, it was tough. I learned a lot by myself, but it took a long time, and I hope she doesn't have to go through that, and I'll be there for her.”
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