World number three Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand insists she will have to ‘work hard’ if she is to upstage the KLPGA Tour’s cream of the crop to win the inaugural Hana Financial Group (HFG) Singapore Women’s Open this week.
The 19-year-old Thai claimed that her reputation as the highest-ranked player in the field will count for nothing as she seeks to produce her A-game in the S$1.1 million event when it gets underway at the Tanah Merah Country Club on Friday.
The HFG-sponsored Atthaya can expect stiff competition especially with nine out of the top 10 finishers of last season’s KLPGA Tour points standings in the fray this week.
Among them are world number 14 Min-ji Park, the KLPGA Tour Official Money winner and Su-ji Kim, who has been crowned the KLPGA Player of the Year.
The other notable names in the 102-woman field include veteran Ji-yai Shin, who boasts 61 wins under her belt, world number 20 Hye-jin Choi and American Solheim Cup team member Yealimi Noh.
“Golf is a sport that’s always hard to gauge because you can have either a good or a bad week,” said Atthaya, who has been a revelation as a rookie on the LPGA Tour this year after bagging two titles and has posted top-10s on 14 other occasions.
“It’s tough to win every week. It really depends on how things pan out for you in one particular week. At times, even when you’re playing well, there may be others who do better.
“It’s going to be a very challenging week in Singapore. Everyone in the field is so good and talented. I’ll need to work hard to get a good result.”
KLPGA fans will be thrilled to see two-time Women’s British Open champion Shin back in action on the Tour after 28 months having last competed in the Dayouwinia MBN Ladies Open in August 2020.
Shin, 35, is a 21-time winner on the KLPGA Tour but not since 2010 after she shifted her focus to Japan where she’s equally successful on the JLPGA Tour with 28 victories to date.
This will be an important week for Shin as she makes her last-ditch attempt to prevent herself from finishing the year without a single title for the first time since 2011.
She came close last week by coming in runner-up at the Women’s Australian Open, a tournament she won in 2013.
It was her second runner-up finish of the year following the Women’s Japan Open.
“I haven’t won this year, so this week in Singapore will be my last chance to win. Of course, if I can do it, I’ll be very happy,” said Shin.
“Otherwise, it will still be a good tournament for me as it’s been a while since I last played in a KLPGA event. There are so many fresh faces here.
“As a ‘big sister’, I hope to play well and inspire my ‘younger sisters’.”
If her current form is anything to go by, then Park will certainly be among the ones to beat too. Park landed in Singapore on the back of the 16th victory of her career at the season-ending Shieldus-SK Telecom Championship last month.
The win saw her cap a glorious campaign where she won six titles for the second successive season.
The all-time record of most titles won in a single season on the KLPGA Tour is still held by Shin, who raked in an astonishing nine titles in 2007.
With Shin’s record on her radar, expect Park to go all out for an early win at the Singapore Women’s Open, which serves as the curtain-raiser of the 2023 season.
“I grew up idolising Jiyai Shin. She’s a great, great player,” said Park.
“I remember playing in a tournament with her several years ago when I only had three to four wins.
“I feel like I have a long way more to catch up to be on par with her. It’s a great honour to be playing alongside her again in Singapore this week.”
