SINGAPORE: Amateur Chen Xing Tong fought off stiff challenges from fellow Singaporean Aloyza Atienza and professional Amanda Tan to earn a spot and compete among some of the world’s best players at the 2024 HSBC Women’s World Championship. The competition will be held at the Sentosa Golf Club from Feb 29 to Mar 3.
The young Singapore golfer, currently with Singapore’s development squad, showcased remarkable consistency in the two-day qualifying event on 24 and 25 Jan. She posted a stellar -2 score on the opening day and maintained a +2 score on the second day of qualifiers.
Chen took an impressive four-shot lead (-2) on the first day of the national qualifiers. The fellow amateur Atienza (+2) is coming in behind Chen, followed by five-time local qualifier Tan (+4). Tan turned professional in 2017 and debuted in the Epson Tour, the LPGA women’s development circuit, in 2022.
Focusing herself on the second day and keen to make her debut at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, Chen emerged victorious in the national qualifying tournament with an even-par performance over two days. Chen shot a two-over 74 to card an even-par 144 total to end four strokes ahead of her Singaporean competitor. Atienza and Tan were tied for second place with a total of 148.
“I am very excited but also very nervous to be able to play with some of the best in the world. I’m just really, really excited about this opportunity!” a jubilant Chen expressed after her win at the Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course.
“These past two days, I really wanted to be consistent, such as keeping the ball in play and hitting the fairways and greens. Basically, playing simple golf. So, it was mainly focusing on hitting and getting on the green first, and then focusing on making the ball drop,” Chen reflected on her performance.
With her win at the national qualifiers, the 15-year-old will share the stage with some of the world’s top players, such as Lilia Vu, Ruoning Yin, Celine Boutier, Minjee Lee and two-time defending champions Ko Jin-Young.
Ko is eyeing a historic third consecutive championship win at this year’s tournament. Last year’s edition also tested mental and physical resilience for Ko.
She was met with challenging weather conditions and had to manage a wrist injury that threatened to stop her playing career since her victory in 2022. But she managed to maintain her composure and win the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship by two shots over America’s Nelly Korda in a thrilling finale.
“This year’s win at Sentosa will always mean a lot to me. 2022 was a challenging year, and being able to successfully defend my title at one of Asia’s major events and one of my favourite stops on tour stirred up a lot of emotions for me,” said Ko, who clinched her 14th LPGA victory at the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship.
But it might not be smooth sailing for Ko as current top golfer Vu has also set her sights on the coveted HSBC Women’s World Championship. Joining two-time major champion and defending champion Ko will be American and world number one Vu, who will be looking to build on her breakout 2023 season, which saw her win the first and last Majors of the year.
“Playing in Asia was really where I started to build my confidence and see success on the course last year. I arrived in Singapore right after winning my first LPGA title, and although it was my first time playing there, I felt really comfortable and loved the atmosphere and the course at Sentosa.
I finished top 15 in my debut, and this year, my goal is to be holding the trophy on Sunday afternoon,” expressed Vu when she confirmed her participation in this year’s tournament earlier in the month.