Ryu So-yeon is among the reigning Major champions heading to Sentosa Golf Club.
Singapore: Koreans
Ryu So-yeon and
Park Sung-hyun will headline the field at the US$1.5 million HSBC Women’s World Championship.
To be staged from March 1-4, Asia’s flagship event for females, formerly known as the HSBC Women’s Champions, returns to the New Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club, a Golf Course Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.
The Korean duo will spearhead a star-studded line-up, which is set to feature all five reigning Major champions.
Ryu and Park, who shared Player of the Year honours last season, will be joined in Singapore by compatriot
Kim In-kyung, the 2017 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion, American
Danielle Kang (KPMG Women’s PGA champion) and Swede
Anna Nordqvist (Evian Championship winner).
Park will be aiming to build on a third-place finish at Sentosa last season, one in a series of sensational results for the 24‐year-old in 2017, which included a breakthrough Major victory at the US Women’s Open.
Park became the first player in history to climb to the world number one spot during her rookie year on the LPGA Tour.
Fan favourite and ANA Inspiration champion Ryu will also return to the New Tanjong Course, looking to make it a hat-trick of wins for Korea at ‘Asia’s Major’, following victories for
Jang Ha-na in 2016 and
Park In-bee in 2017.
Ryu said: “I’m very excited to make my return to Singapore for the HSBC Women’s World Championship. The event always draws one of the strongest fields of the season, so it’s a tournament everybody wants to play well in. I finished in the top-10 last year so will be looking for another strong result this time around.”
Meanwhile, Kim will be in search of her first win since vanquishing her Major demons with a dominant victory at the Ricoh Women’s British Open last August, one of three wins for the world number six in 2017.
For Kang, too, 2017 was a memorable year. As well as capturing her first LPGA victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she made a fearless rookie appearance at the Solheim Cup, playing a vital role in helping Team USA retain the trophy.
Kang said: “Last year was brilliant for me so I can’t wait to get back on the course to see what 2018 brings. The HSBC Women’s World Championship always stands out as one of the highlights of the year, both on and off the course. It’s an event I’m targeting.”
Rounding out the quintet of Major champions is Swedish Solheim Cup star Nordqvist, who defied awful conditions to claim her second Major victory at the Evian Championship last September.
Complementing the all-star cast at Sentosa will be four days of unmissable entertainment off the course, with the festival concept again underpinning the tournament’s reputation as one of the most fun events on the LPGA schedule.