Seven of the world’s top 10 women golfers will make the trip to Singapore for the Lexus Cup this month, organizers said yesterday, but top-ranked Lorena Ochoa is not among them.
Topping the bill for Team Asia, which is skippered by South Korean trailblazer Pak Se-ri, is rookie sensation and world No. 2 Yani Tseng (曾雅妮) from Taiwan.
A further four Lexus Cup rookies join the line-up after successful seasons, including Park In-bee, Choi Na-yeon, Ji Eun-hee and Kim Song-hee, all from South Korea.
Candie Kung (龔怡萍) of Taiwan and South Koreans Jang Jeong and Lee Seon-hwa take the remaining qualifying spots.
“We are going to have a mix of youth and experience on my team this year and I am really excited to see how we will perform at the Singapore Island Country Club,” Pak said. “The young girls have all had very strong seasons and we have a lot of champions on our side and this confidence will be a great boost to the team.”
World No. 3 Annika Sorenstam captains the international team in one of her final appearances before she retires, determined to wrest the trophy back from Team Asia.
Joining Sorenstam will be fellow Scandinavian and world No. 4 Suzann Pettersen, US fifth-ranked Paula Creamer and the experienced Cristie Kerr, Angela Stanford and Karen Stupples.
Newcomers include Swedish veteran Helen Alfredsson who is in the form of her life, riding high as world No. 7, as well as Australia’s Katherine Hull.
“Helen will be a great addition to Team International this year and is having a remarkable season with a couple of great victories along with Suzann Pettersen of Norway,” Sorenstam said. “This shows the strength of golf in our region and I know Team International will be left in good hands with this dearth of talent when I step away from my professional career.”
The leading four Asian and international players from the ADT Official Money List automatically qualify for each team, followed by the top four Asian and international players from the World Golf Rankings.
The final four players consist of two captain’s picks and two sponsor’s exemptions, which have yet to be announced.
The tournament is played from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30.
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