KLPGA 2023 Season Opens in Singapore... Battle of the Three Major Women's Golf Tours

Ttikkun, Park Min-ji, Shin Ji-ae and Others Total 102 Participants
Yoo Hae-ran Absent Due to LPGA Tour Qualifying School Participation

Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open tournament poster. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Taewon] The opening event of the 2023 season Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour will be held on the 9th in Singapore. Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), the 2022 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, Park Minji, the 2022 KLPGA season money leader, and Shin Ji-ae, a seasoned player from the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA), are all set to compete fiercely.

The opening event will be the KLPGA Tour Hana Financial Group Singapore Ladies Open (total prize money of 1.1 million Singapore dollars). It will take place over three days starting from the 9th at the Tanamera Country Club in Singapore (par 72, 6,486 yards). Although the tournament is held in 2022, it will be counted toward the 2023 KLPGA Tour records.

This tournament will feature a large number of players from the three major women's golf tours worldwide: the KLPGA Tour, LPGA Tour, and JLPGA Tour, promising intense competition.

A total of 102 players will participate, including the top 72 from the KLPGA Tour and 30 players from the Asia-Pacific region.

Park Minji, who won both the money title and most wins in the 2022 KLPGA Tour season, Kim Suji, the Player of the Year, and Lee Yewon, the Rookie of the Year, will all participate. However, Yoo Hae-ran, who boasts five KLPGA career wins, will not participate due to her participation in the LPGA Tour Qualifying School.

From the LPGA Tour, Rookie of the Year Atthaya Thitikul, Choi Hyejin, and Korean-American No Ye-rim (USA) have confirmed their participation.

Veteran Shin Ji-ae, who has won 61 titles across the Korean, American, and Japanese tours, will also compete aiming for her 62nd win. This will be Shin Ji-ae's first KLPGA Tour appearance in two years and four months since the Daewoo Winia MBN Ladies Open in August 2020.

Jeon Mi-jeong, who has 25 career wins on the JLPGA Tour, will also participate. Her most recent KLPGA Tour appearance was at the 2019 Taiwan Ladies Open.

Meanwhile, the KLPGA Tour will also hold the PLK Pacific Links Korea Championship (total prize money of 700 million KRW) in Vietnam for three days starting December 16, the week immediately following this tournament.