Golf: Park Ji-young wins inaugural Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open

South Korea’s Park Ji-young was declared the winner of the inaugural Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open held at Tanah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course over the weekend after the third and final round was cancelled due to heavy rain.

The tournament result was based on the scores after 36 holes, and Ji-young shot rounds of 66 and 67 to reach 11-under-par 133 where she won by just one shot ahead of the trio of Jung Min Hong, So Young Lee and Park Hyun Kyung.

Only 21 out of 67 players scheduled to tee off the final round were out on the course when the play was first halted at 8:50 am. With the weather not letting up after a couple of hours, the organisers decided that the result would be decided on 36-hole scores. The win in Singapore is Ji-young’s fifth Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour title, and she brings home SGD$198,000 for her feat.

“I did accomplish some come-from-behind victories previously, but never once from a shortened tournament, so it’s really different,” said Ji-young.

“A win is always fulfilling regardless of how it’s attained. I’m really happy and proud to be the inaugural winner of the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open. I’ve put in a lot of effort to improve my game and I’m so glad that it paid off this week.”

Shannon Tan made the host country proud by emerging as the best-placed amateur, finishing tied for 53rd on one-under-par 143. The Singaporean is the only one among the seven amateurs in the fray to make the cut after coming back strongly with a 67 on the second day.

“This prize means a lot to me because this is the first time I’ve made the cut at a professional event,” said Tan after receiving the trophy. “I can’t ask for a better place to accomplish it than in our very own national Open.” 

During the same week, the women’s golf scene in Asia received a tremendous boost when the inaugural R&A Women in Golf Forum took centre stage in Singapore,  held concurrently with the opening round of the $1.1 million Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open on 9 Dec at the Tanah Merah Country Club. The high-powered meeting was endorsed by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation and the Asia Golf Leaders Forum.

With the theme of ‘Growing Women’s Golf in Asia’, the forum brings together some of the most influential professionals from the golf industry. Headlined by South Korean legend and World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Pak Se-ri, panellists shared ideas on how to inspire more women to pick up the sport and get involved in the golf industry as a whole.

Other renowned industry leaders such as Yuko Tashiro of Tokyo-based Accordia Golf; Jackie Davidson, director of golf development at the R&A; Hana-Rae Seifert of Golf New Zealand’s; and Karen Proctor of Textron Specialised Vehicles were also part of the panel of speakers.

“We are delighted to be hosting The R&A Women in Golf Forum in Asia for the first time. The Asia-Pacific region is a powerhouse in women’s professional golf, producing more and more champions at the highest level of the game. But for golf to be thriving 50 years from now, we would like to see even more women participating in recreational golf and enjoying successful careers within the golf industry,” said Davidson.