The 2021 HSBC Women’s World Championship kicked-off today with a unique launch event celebrating the game-changing sustainability initiatives of tournament host Sentosa Golf Club.
World No. 1 Jin Young Ko, her fellow Korean and Olympic gold medallist Inbee Park, leading Australian Minjee Lee, former World No. 1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand and England’s Georgia Hall took time out from their preparations for ‘Asia’s Major’ to learn more about the club’s sustainability endeavours and initiatives. These include electric car charging, a sustainable herb garden, removal of plastics, hand removal of weeds to minimise pesticide usage, state-of-the-art irrigation for water management, lithium battery powered golf carts and bee colonisation.
The five golfers, with more than 50 LPGA titles between them, visited the club’s bee sanctuary and witnessed how every employee hand-picks a minimum of 15 weeds a day. With 75 agronomy employees, this equates to a minimum of 7,875 weeds each week.
Recently named ‘The World’s Best Golf Club’ and ‘The World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’ at the World Golf Awards, Sentosa is calling for golf clubs around the world to pick up the mantle on sustainability. The club was the first golf facility in the world to join the UN Sports for Climate Action and is spearheading a call to action for the golf industry to respond to climate change, titled ‘GAME ON.’ The initiative highlights that it is time for golf to act upon the issue of climate change and unite the game’s key stakeholders with the wider golfing community to implement modern processes for the betterment of the environment.
Sentosa was the first golf club in Asia to use carbon products in their agronomy programme to reduce the use of pesticides, which has helped to reduce pesticide applications by up to 95%.
Two-time HSBC Women’s World Championship winner and seven-time Major champion Park said: “This is one of the most beautiful and perfectly conditioned golf courses in the world. Learning about their sustainability efforts has been really educational. I hope that by HSBC taking the opportunity to highlight Sentosa Golf Club’s work, other clubs will be inspired and that we will all try better to make a difference to our world.”
The golfers rode on lithium powered carts as they made their way to the historic ‘Pyramid’ halfway house on the 4th hole of The Tanjong Course where they sampled Sentosa’s honey.
Andrew Johnston, general manager / director of agronomy of the club, explained that with the world’s bee population down 70%, they have committed to providing an environment to four bee colonies including stingless Meliponini to thrive. “”We are very proud of our sustainability programme, so we are very thankful to HSBC and all of the players for taking time out today to learn more and highlight it in this way,” he said.
Lydia Ko, who won her 16th LPGA title earlier this month, commented: “Often the press call at the start of the tournament is just about us golfers, so I absolutely loved the opportunity to shine a light on Sentosa Golf Club’s innovative sustainability efforts. I think it sets a great example to other golf clubs and should motivate all of us to do better in this area of our lives.”
Olfert De Wit, Interim CEO of HSBC Singapore noted that they were proud to play their part in bringing professional sports events back to Singapore. “The tournament boasts a stellar field, including the world’s top three ranked players. Although we aren’t able to welcome back spectators, we are looking forward to an exciting week of world-class golf.
“We are thrilled to highlight the sustainability work of our hosts, Sentosa Golf Club, who really are ‘Game-Changers’ and who share our commitment to ensure a thriving and resilient future for the planet. We couldn’t think of a better way to launch our tournament week than to showcase the example that Sentosa is setting to golf clubs around the world,” said De Wit.
The 2019 HSBC Women’s World Championship was won by Sung-hyun Park who joined an impressive cast of champions that includes Michelle Wie-West, Inbee Park, Paula Creamer, Karrie Webb, Ai Miyazato and Lorena Ochoa.
For more information, visit the tournament website at hsbcgolf.com/womens
