(L to R); Minjee; Lee, Brooke Henderson, Jin Young Ko, Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda
Five of the world’s top-ranked players: No.1 Lydia Ko, No.2 Nelly Korda, No.3 Minjee Lee, No.6 Brooke Henderson, and 2022 Champion and World No.5, Jin Young Ko were at Sentosa Golf Club to open the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, Singapore, March 2-5.
Welcoming fans back for the first time since 2019, the world’s best players enjoyed a special preview of all the activities on offer in the new spectator village, with defending Champion Jin Young Ko cutting the ceremonial ribbon to mark the fact that the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship is open and ready to welcome everyone back on site this year.
With nine of the world’s top 10, 22 major winners in the field, 20 nationalities represented in the field, HSBC celebrating the special 15th anniversary and almost 100 local and international media in attendance, this week’s tournament undoubtedly has a major feel about it.
Defending Champion, Jin Young Ko said, “Winning last year was very special, but I really missed having fans there to celebrate the victory with me so it will be fantastic to see everyone back this year. I am delighted to be able to declare the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship open and we can’t wait to see everyone here at Sentosa this week.”
World No.1 Lydia Ko added, “I’m so happy to hear that we will have fans back this year but I am even more delighted for our tournament sponsor HSBC to have fans back on site to celebrate this important 15th anniversary with them. It’s only Tuesday of tournament week and I can already feel the atmosphere building and I can’t wait to tee off on Thursday.”
World No.2 Nelly Korda added, “It is so nice to be back in Singapore again. I played a practice round this morning and the course is in absolutely perfect condition, the set up looks great and, of course everything is absolutely beautiful. Opening the village up this afternoon with Lydia, Minjee, Brooke and JK definitely showcases how strong the field is for this special 15 anniversary edition. Hopefully we will all have a great week and put on a fun show to help welcome everyone back.”
Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko
All of last year’s Major champions are in the line-up including American Jennifer Kupcho, (The Chevron Championship) Australian Minjee Lee, (US Open) South Korean In Gee Chun, (KPMG LPGA Championship 2022) Canadian Brooke Henderson, (The Amundi Evian Championship) and South African Ashleigh Buhai, (AIG Women’s Open 2022) with all looking to win this coveted title for the first time.
This year marks the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship and remarkably, of the 14 previous winners, 12 are Major champions, lending yet further credibility to the player’s claim that this is ‘Asia’s Major.’
The 72-hole stroke play tournament will once again be played on the renowned Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club, which hosts its tenth edition of the tournament. Sentosa Golf Club is a leading light in driving sustainability initiatives in golf around the world and was recently named ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’ at the annual World Golf Awards.
