Hana Financial Group to sponsor first Singapore Women's golf open in November

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S women professional golfers, for so long restricted to just the HSBC Women's World Championship qualifiers every year, can look forward to two new tournaments in 2020.

Both tournaments will be in November, the first at Tanah Merah Country Club (TMCC) from Nov 6 to 8, and the second at Laguna National from Nov 26 to 29.

At the official launch held at TMCC, tournament sponsor Hana Financial Group announced that world No 9 Minjee Lee of Australia will headline the field for the 1 billion Korean won (S$1.15 million) Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open 2020 at TMCC's Tampines course.

Hana Financial Group - a leading South Korean financial group providing integrated services through its subsidiaries - is firmly committed to golf, having backed the 2005 Korean Open and has organised its own LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) tournament since 2010 while also supporting the Asian Tour.

Lee, 23, born in Perth but of South Korean ethnicity, became the No 1 ranked amateur golfer in February 2014 until she turned professional in September that year.

As a leading golfer, she will compete in next month's US$1.5 million HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong course.

Joining her in Singapore for the November competition is former world No 1, Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who is also of South Korean ethnicity.

The 22-year-old became the top-ranked female professional golfer in February 2015 when she was 17 years, 9 months and 9 days of age, making her the youngest player - man or woman - to be ranked the world's leading player.

Conceived by the Hana Financial Group with the target of developing the best women's professional golf tournament in the Asia Pacific, the event aims to provide a platform for rising stars in the region.

Co-sanctioned by the Singapore Golf Association and the Korean LPGA and supported by the R&A and the Korea Golf Association, the field will also include up-and-coming golfers Yealimi Noh, a South Korean-American golfer born in San Francisco, and China's Sui Xiang.

Another rising star slated for the event is Yuka Saso of the Philippines who will join a host of Korean LPGA players and golfers from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

With Asia being the centre of women's golf in the world, five-time golf Major winner, Park Se Ri, a member of the organising committee is thrilled that Hana Financial Group has helped conceive a new national title in the region.

"To chase my dream of being the best, I had to move to the US as a young golfer who couldn't speak English. I was alone in a country with different food, culture and it wasn't easy," she said.

"While it helped me grow as an individual, I'm glad to be part of a movement to give young golfers a more comfortable platform to chase their dreams, to provide more women from our continent the opportunity to showcase the quality that already exists in Asia."

A second professional women's golf tournament, the Singapore Ladies' Invitational, will make its debut at Laguna at the end of November.

The event, founded by SGA vice-president Lyn Yeo, is co-sanctioned by the China Ladies Professional Golf Association and Taiwan LPGA.

Singapore's leading professional, Koh Sock Hwee, said: "It's heartening to note that there are two events for local professionals here. We have hardly any ladies' event so it is very difficult for us to raise our game. I hope to get a chance to play in both events."