This week’s HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore will feature the two hottest players in women’s golf.
On Sunday, the Republic of Korea’s Amy Yang followed a second-place finish in Australia with her second career Tour victory on Sunday at the Honda LPGA Thailand. She finished two strokes ahead of Yani Tseng, Stacy Lewis and Mirim Lee and took over the lead in the Rolex Player of the Year and Race to the CME Globe standings, as well as the LPGA money list, in the process.
Players from the Republic of Korea have won three of the first four events this season, and only world No. 1 Lydia Ko – who won the other tournament – has been as torrid as Yang in the past two weeks. Ko won in Australia and then took home her 10th career professional event in her native New Zealand in a non-LPGA event, and she will join Yang in Singapore this week.
Add the resurgent Tseng – who leads the Tour in putting – 2013 event champion Lewis and Lee, and the number of players whose game is in top form continues to grow. This year’s other tournament winners, namely the Republic of Korea’s Sei Young Kim and Na Yeon Choi, are also in the tournament’s stacked field.
Names like Inbee Park, Shanshan Feng, Suzann Pettersen, Michelle Wie, Beatriz Recari and So Yeon Ryu are also on the field list, setting the stage for an epic battle in the $1.4 million event. And don’t forget defending champion Paula Creamer, 2012 champion Angela Stanford or Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, who took home the tournament title in 2011.
This week’s event has arguably the strongest field of any tournament so far during this young season, so there is sure to be fireworks over the weekend. Players absolutely love the hospitality and cultural experience they have in Singapore, so it’s a dream trip for anyone in the field.
The HSBC Women’s Champions is the final stop on a three-week international tour for the LPGA before a week off to recover from jet lag next week. Then, players will be on to Arizona and California for a trifecta that includes the season’s first major – the ANA Inspiration April 2-5.
Numerous questions will be answered in a matter of days, and Golf Channel will once again carry the action. Will Ko and Yang continue their stellar play? Will the contingent from the Republic of Korea continue its early season dominance? Will a new star rise to shake things up?
Only time will tell.
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