KUCHING: Miri-born golfer Mirabel Ting has come a long way to reach the LPGA Tour.
From leaving Malaysia for the United States at 17, losing her father just two months into college, rebuilding her career at Florida State University and then navigating the demands of professional golf, the Sarawakian has now secured her LPGA Tour card for 2027 in her first season as a professional.
For Ting, however, the achievement is not hers alone.
“It’s kind of my dream since I was a little kid,” she told the Epson Tour.
“And obviously my grandfather’s dream, my dad’s dream, my grandmother’s dream, and my sister’s dream too. So, part of wanting to be on the LPGA is also because of her. I want to be there and do my best.”
Ting arrived in the United States in 2022 as a freshman at Augusta University.
Two months into her college career, while travelling to her first collegiate tournament, she learnt that her father, Thomas, had died of a heart attack.
She returned home several times that autumn before going back to competition, still managing a victory and five further top-seven finishes.
A transfer to Florida State University followed, and with it came the strongest stretch of her collegiate career.
Ting recorded seven victories, won the 2025 Annika Award as the top player in NCAA Division I women’s golf, was named ACC Golfer of the Year and earned All-America honours.
She turned professional in July 2025, shortly after the death of her grandfather, and has since built an impressive rookie campaign on the Epson Tour.
Her season includes a runner-up finish at the Hartford HealthCare Women’s Championship, followed by victories at the Smoky Mountain Championship and Dream First Bank Charity Classic.
“I think pro golf still finds ways to humble me,” Ting said.
“Golf will always teach you how to be humble – not every day is great, not every day is a good day, and there will always be bad days.”
One constant through the season has been her sister Michelle, who has caddied for her throughout the year.
Their partnership took time to settle, but eventually became one of Ting’s greatest strengths.
“I feel like we went through a lot this year, and it took us quite a few tournaments to actually figure things out – my distances, what kind of player I am, what I’m thinking under pressure,” she said.
That trust proved decisive at the Smoky Mountain Championship in August.
Facing a 155-yard approach during a playoff against Rachel Kuehn, Ting wanted to hit an eight iron. Michelle suggested a seven.
Ting listened, hit the shot and went on to make the birdie putt that delivered her first Epson Tour title.
“I took a step back, and I realised she’s here to help me, not to hurt me – she’s here to guide me through, and I have to listen,” Ting said.
Asked what her father might have said after the win, her answer was simple.
“I think he’s proud.”
Two missed cuts earlier in the season had forced Ting to reassess her game, but the turnaround eventually carried her to a second title in Kansas and the top of the Race for the Card standings.
It also made her the first Malaysian golfer to reach the LPGA Tour through the Epson Tour pathway.
For Ting, reaching golf’s top level closes one chapter of a journey shaped by ambition, loss and resilience.
“This has been their longest dream,” she said of her father and grandfather.
“So, to the two of them, I’d say: I’ve done it, and I’ll continue working hard.”
