SINGAPORE: Four players – Tiffany Chan (Hong Kong), Yu Liu (Chinese Taipei), Mao Saigo (Japan), and Shi Yuting (China) – have been announced as invited to the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship as ‘Asia’s Major’ returns to Sentosa Golf Club from March 2-5, welcoming fans back for the first time since 2019.
This year’s edition will see the five best players in the world Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda, Minjee Lee, Atthaya Thitikul and defending champion Jin Young Ko leading the stellar line-up which includes 18 of the world’s top 20 ranked players. All of last year’s Major champions are in the line-up including American Jennifer Kupcho, (The Chevron Championship) Minjee Lee, (US Open) South Korean In Gee Chun, (KPMG LPGA Championship 2022) Canadian Brooke Henderson, (The Amundi Evian Championship) and South African Ashleigh Buhai, (AIG Women’s Open 2022) are all looking to win this coveted title for the first time.
Chan, who turned professional in 2017, is a two-time Olympian and winner of the 2016 Hong Kong Ladies Open on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour. Chinese star Yu, a graduate of the CGA-HSBC China junior golf programme ranked No.165 on the Rolex Rankings, while compatriot Shi, was nominated by the CGA for this tournament after an impressive year in 2022 which saw her win her first JLPGA title at the Golf5 event in September. The final invite is 21-year-old Mao currently ranked 30, the highest-ranked player among the four invites.
“I am very thankful to HSBC for awarding me this invite. They have given me so much support in my career, first as a junior through the CGA-HSBC China Junior Golf Programme and most recently with this great opportunity. I hope I can show my thanks with my best performance at the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship,” expressed Yu who burst onto the LPGA scene in 2018 as a rookie, impressing with three top-10 finishes including a career-best major finish of T5 at the 2019 US Open.
The four Asian rising stars will join Singapore’s top golfer Amanda Tan who triumphed at last week’s HSBC Women’s World Championship National Qualifying Tournament held at Sentosa. Tan held her nerve over two qualifying rounds against Jamie Ng and Aloysa Atienza to secure her place in the field alongside the world’s best players for a remarkable fifth time.
“It’s always an honour to play at the HSBC Women’s World Championship at home, especially at Sentosa Golf Club – somewhere where I practice every day. Being able to have family and friends come out and watch me, it’s always a pleasure and a very special experience for me. On top of that, with the HSBC Women’s World Championship being a leading LPGA event, with all of the world’s top female players coming, it makes it even better. It means a lot to me, and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Singapore’s golfer Tan ahead of the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship.
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 yet further credibility to the player’s claim that this is ‘Asia’s Major.’
The 72-hole stroke play tournament will once again be played on the renowned Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club, which hosts its tenth edition of the tournament. Sentosa Golf Club is a leading light in driving sustainability initiatives in golf around the world and was recently named ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’ at the annual World Golf Awards.