The 2020 Taiwan LPGA Tour tees off with this week’s season-opening Hitachi Ladies Classic at the Orient Golf & Country Club in Taoyuan City.
The NT$10 million (approx. US$334,000) event starts tomorrow and will see Thailand’s Parinda Phokan attempt to defend the title she won by one shot from compatriot Kanphanitnan Muangkhumsakul last year.
Parinda earned NT$2.5 million for the win and went on to top the 2019 Taiwan LPGA Order of Merit ahead of Taiwan’s Tsai Pei-Ying, who is also in this year’s field.
Four Malaysians are in the field of 108 players, namely Aretha Pan, Dianne Luke, Michelle Koh and Genevieve Ling, who all return to action after the year-end season break. Dianne finished T17 in last yer’s edition, Aretha was T43 while Genevieve missed the cut. Michelle did not play in the 2019 event.
The Hitachi Ladies Classic will be contested over 54 holes with a cut to the top 60 players and ties for the third and final round.
Opened for play in 1994, the par-71 Orient course is crafted by Johor-based American architect Ronald Fream and is located about 30 minutes’ drive from central Taipei and the Taoyuan International Airport.
