Taiwan will host a LPGA Tour event for the first time next year, the Golf Association of Taiwan announced yesterday.
The tournament will be held in October next year at the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Taoyuan County, home of LPGA star Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), the association said.
“We’re pleased to announce that the international event will be held in Sunrise, where Yani was groomed before she rose to fame,” association chairman Hsu Tien-ya (許典雅) said.
PHOTO: AFP
Eight out of the world’s top 10 women golfers, including Tseng, will vie for the championship and US$2 million in prize money, Hsu said.
The 21-year-old Tseng became the youngest woman to win three major trophies after claiming a tense one-shot victory at the British Open in England earlier this month.
Hsu said one main factor behind the plan for the tournament “was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China [ROC].”
Tseng wrote to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) last year to urge the government to sponsor an LPGA tournament. Her hopes were dashed by Ma, who after asking how much it would cost to sponsor a tourney, said the amount would sponsor more than a dozen marathons.
The Sports Affairs Council also cited the “high cost” when rejecting the proposal.
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