MENLO PARK, Calif. – Natasha Andrea Oon blew into the LPGA press room on Tuesday like a breath of fresh air. At the Fortinet Founders Cup, Oon embodied what the 13 Founders understood well – the need to entertain.
The bubbly and engaging Oon had a lot of say after waiting two years to make her LPGA rookie debut close to home in the Bay Area. The former San Jose State player had the media room abuzz at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club early week, and the talk kept building as Oon became a highlight reel inside the ropes too.
Here’s more on the LPGA rookie who has taken the tour by storm:
Advertisement
Hall of Famer in her corner
The 2022 Mountain West Player of the Year, 24-year-old Oon was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and grew up in Malaysia, where she graudated from high school at age 16. She then went on to graduate from San Jose State in only three years and win the Juli Inkster Award presented by Workday, given to the highest-ranked collegiate player in her final year of eligibility. Inkster also graduated from San Jose State and lives in the Bay Area. She and husband Brian have both taken Oon under their wings.
“She’s got a ton of talent,” said Inkster, “and Brian has helped her a lot both on the golf course and off the golf course. I’ve helped her also.
“But she’s got a special place in the Inkster heart. Lucy, our dog, loves her. I’m just looking forward to her getting her journey going. I think she’s going to build, build, build and be a great player.”
Advertisement
LPGA card in hand
Natasha Andrea Oon of Malaysia, Auston Kim of United States, Isabella Fierro of Mexico,Gabriela Ruffels of Australia, Roberta Liti of Italy, Minji Kang of South Korea, Kristen Gillman of the United States, Jenny Coleman of United States, Jiwon Jeon of South Korea and Agathe Laisne of France pose after an LPGA Card Ceremony after the final round of The Epson Tour Championship at LPGA International on October 8, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
After four runner-up showings in her rookie season on the Epson Tour in 2023, Oon broke through with her her first victory at the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout. She had eight top 10s in 19 starts to earn her LPGA card for the 2024 season, finishing second on the tour’s money list to Gabi Ruffels.
She was also named the Epson Tour’s Rookie of the Year.
Two years of waiting
Only her LPGA rookie year didn’t begin as planned. Oon missed the 2024 and 2025 LPGA seasons with a nightmare foot injury.
“I had a sesamoid stress fracture,” Oon explained. “Everyone is like, ‘What’s a sesamoid?’ I’m like, that’s what I said too when they told me that. It’s a bone in your right foot, and got stressed because I kept pivoting on it, turning on it.
Advertisement
“It was first diagnoses as a turf toe and then became a plantar plate tear, and now I know medical terms I wish I didn’t know, but I do. Yeah, had a cleft and it was stressed out.”
Oon did tons of physical therapy but it never went away, so she ultimately decided to have surgery to remove the bone.
“So in parties, I say I don’t have all the bones in my body and I’m really interesting after that,” she said, laughing.
It took time to rehab and build back her strength.
Oon admitted that it was too hard to watch LPGA coverage during that time. She picked up board games, sang karaoke at bars and hiked at Yosemite to test her foot.
Advertisement
“I struggled being on the green for more than 20 minutes when I was rehabbing,” said Oon. “I was like, what do I do? How can I practice? I’m missing everything and I used to make everything.
“My past haunted me a lot. It was the big you were so good; now you’re here. That was a choice I had.”
Debut week on SportsCenter
After playing a couple Epson Tour events in 2026 to get warmed up, Oon started off shaky in Round 1 at the Founders, making a quad on the par-4 second hole. She battled back for an even-par 72, and then things really heated up.
Oon put together what golf fans refer to as a “psycho scorecard” with only four pars the entire day. A double, five bogeys, seven birdies and a hole-out eagle on the 16th that ended with her dramatically laying on the ground was enough to get her featured on SportCenter’s Top 10 Friday night.
Advertisement
The second-round 70 also gave her a weekend tee time.
“I cried. If no one noticed, I cried a lot and a lot of people were like, what’s wrong? You guys did really well. I’m like, I’m crying tears of joy because it’s been a long time and just coming back and feeling all the emotions,” said Oon.
“When I made that hole-out, it wasn’t even about the hole-out, it was about like hearing the crowd cheer and everyone laughing and having a good time.
“That was so electrifying. I felt like I was on the FIFA World Cup and I scored a goal. That was really cool. Just to do it in front of a marquee, I love this. This is so cool. I love being a performer and getting to know you all and getting asked these questions and performing.”
Advertisement
Another day, another hole-out
On Saturday, Oon did it again, this time holing out from 90 yards on the par-4 third hole. Add in four bogeys, a double and five birdies and she finished with a third-round 71.
“I definitely was a little bit frustrated, if I was being honest out there,” said Oon. “I was just like, you know, I did say golf was fun, but today I might be a liar.”
Oon closed with a 75 on Sunday to finish toward the bottom of the pack but, given how long she has waited to make a splash on this tour, there’s still plenty to celebrate.
Oon has arrived, and there’s no one else like her on tour.
Advertisement
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Meet Natasha Andrea Oon, the LPGA rookie everyone is talking about
Read the full article here
