The 42nd edition of the Queen Sirikit Cup has been rescheduled for 2022. The Asia-Pacific’s premier amateur team championship for women will be hosted by Singapore’s Laguna National Golf & Country Club next March.
Also known as the Amateur Ladies Asia-Pacific Invitational Golf Team Championship, the 15-nation event had been set to take place at the award-winning 36-hole Singapore venue from August 23-27, 2021. However, continued quarantine protocols in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic would have made attendance problematic for many of the competing nations, while standard operating procedures would have hindered the opening and closing ceremonies, traditionally key elements of the event.
Rae-Vadee T. Suwan, secretary-general of the Queen Sirikit Cup and a driving force behind the creation of the event in 1979, said: “It is with a heavy heart that the decision was made to move the date of the Queen Sirikit Cup to early 2022.
“For those that travel, so many restrictions remain in place at the moment. As such, after much consideration it was felt that it would not have been feasible to proceed with the August date. Now, we must look forward to welcoming the Queen Sirikit Cup back to the golfing calendar next March.
“Our grateful thanks go to Laguna National and the Singapore Ladies Golf Association (SLGA) for their understanding – and for agreeing to support the event’s return in a safe environment in 2022.”
The 41st staging of the Queen Sirikit Cup took place at Glenelg Golf Club in Adelaide, Australia in March 2019. Last year’s Queen Sirikit Cup was originally scheduled to be played at Indonesia’s Pondok Indah Golf Club from March 12-15 before being re-set for June 29-July 3. However, given travel restrictions and compulsory quarantine orders, organisers reluctantly postponed the event – the first time since the tournament’s inauguration that it had missed a year.
“It’s hugely frustrating for players, officials and fans that the coronavirus has disrupted the global golfing schedule so severely. However, it has, and always will be, the priority of the APGC to ensure that any event we stage is done so with the safety and best interests of everyone in mind,” said Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) chairman Taimur Hassan Amin.
Lyn Yeo, president of the SLGA, added: “Despite the disappointment we feel at this moment, the SLGA is looking forward to bringing this fabulous championship to Singapore in 2022 and to be the first country to host the Queen Sirikit Cup in its new 72-hole format.”
Traditionally, the Queen Sirikit Cup has comprised of three-player teams competing over 54 holes of individual stroke play with the two best daily scores from each team counting towards the overall totals. Commencing in 2022, the tournament will be extended to 72 holes over four rounds, a reflection of improving standards and the elite status of the Queen Sirikit Cup.
Over the past five decades, the Queen Sirikit Cup has been graced by many of the best-known names in women’s golf, including Australians Karrie Webb, Minjee Lee and Hannah Green, China’s Feng Shanshan, Chinese Taipei’s Tseng Ya-ni, Japan’s Ai Miyazato, Koreans Pak Se-ri, Ryu So-yeon, Shin Ji-yae and Kim Hyo-joo, New Zealander Lydia Ko and Thai Patty Tavatanakit, among others.
The 2022 Queen Sirikit Cup is supported by SportSG and sanctioned by the Singapore Golf Association.
