SINGAPORE — World No. 1 and 2, Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda will head the line-up along with defending champion Ko Jin Young at the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore from March 2-5.
All three players have held the No. 1 ranking during 2022 and will be looking for a strong start in 2023 to hold or reclaim their position at the top of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, with only 0.49 points separating the top two spots.
Lydia Ko, following a win at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship last year, returned to the top spot in the world for the first time since the summer of 2017. After a season that saw her win three times, she also won the LPGA Player of the Year and the Vare Trophy for a low scoring average of a remarkable 68.99.
Looking to better her highest finish of T7th at next year’s HSBC Women’s World Championship, Lydia Ko said: “I had an amazing year and to finish the season with a win and a return to the top of the world rankings was very special.”
“Looking ahead to next season, Singapore is one of my favorite cities to visit and the HSBC Women’s World Championship is definitely an event I would love to win one day. It always has such a strong field and an amazing list of past champions that it would be such an honor to add my name to the list,” added Lydia Ko, who first achieved the top ranking in 2015 at 17 years old.
Lydia Ko is scheduled to participate in the Honda LPGA Thailand in Chonburi in February before the tournament in Singapore.
Korda, who also had a November to remember, captured her first title 12 months after health issues saw her sidelined for four months earlier in the year. Her win at the Pelican Women’s Championship briefly returned Korda to World No. 1 until Ko won a week later.
Nelly Korda, who will also be joined by her sister Jessica, returns to Singapore for the first time since 2019, with the pair having curtailed their international travel during Covid times, explained: “We are so excited to return to Singapore having missed out the last couple of years. It is an awesome event, full of the best players in the world and HSBC really thinks of everything to make it such a special week for us.”
This year marks the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, and remarkably, of the 14 previous winners, 12 are Major champions, lending further credibility to the player’s claim that this is ‘Asia’s Major.’
“HSBC Women’s World Championship is firmly established as a truly world-class event and showcases our commitment to opening up opportunities in women’s sport. We are thrilled to see such a stellar lineup for the 15th anniversary of the tournament and excited to welcome fans back this year. Few places, if any, offer all the ingredients we have in Singapore. A dynamic global hub, the world’s best golfers, and the incredible setting of Sentosa will make for another thrilling edition of ‘Asia’s Major,” said Kee Joo Wong, CEO of HSBC Singapore.
The tournament has been held since 2008, and the inaugural edition was won by Mexican golfer Lorena Ochoa. She retired from golf two years ago, having won two championships, and was named LPGA’s Player of the Year for four consecutive years from 2006 to 2009. The former world number one golfer was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.
Past champions include 2021 – Hyo Joo Kim (South Korea), 2019 – Park Sung-hyun (South Korean), 2018 – Michelle Wie (USA), 2017 – Inbee Park (South Korea), and 2016 – Ha Na Jang (South Korean).
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