Malaysian No 1 Kelly Tan begins her 2020 LPGA campaign in this week’s ISPS Handa Vic Open, which tees off at 13th Beach Golf Links on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, tomorrow.
Tan noted that her goal for 2020 is to finish in the top 60 on the LPGA Tour money list. “It has always been my goal and I feel with the way I played in 2019 it has given me lots of confidence going into 2020,” said Tan, who regained full playing rights on the LPGA Tour via last year’s gruelling Q-Series at Pinehurst.
Tan played four full seasons on the LPGA Tour from 2014. She lost full playing rights following the 2017 season and competed mainly on the second-tier Symetra Tour in 2018 and 2019. The 26-year-old won the 2019 Florida’s Natural Charity Classic on the Symetra Tour for her first international professional title.
The ISPS Handa Vic Open is a trailblazer for gender equality in golf. Men and women play on the same courses, at the same time and for equal prize money of US$1.1 million. For the second consecutive year, the tournament is jointly sanctioned by the LPGA Tour, the Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG) Tour, the European Tour and the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia.
A field of 144 men and 144 women will play one round on each of the first two days on the Beach and Creek courses. After the second round, the field will be cut to the leading 60 players plus ties for both men and women, while a second cut will be made after the third round to the leading 35 players plus ties for both genders. The third and fourth rounds will be played on the Beach Course.
2019 champions Celine Boutier of France and David Law of Scotland are defending their titles. The women’s field also features 11 Major champions, including seven-time Major champion and Australian legend Karrie Webb and Korea’s Inbee Park, another seven-time Major winner and the 2016 Olympic gold medalist.
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