Golf: Goh aims for hat-trick

Goh (above), 25-year-old professional, qualified for the event in 2011 and 2013 and is aiming to make it a hat-trick at the local qualifiers at the same course on Jan 28 and 29.

Jessica Ang is the only other professional in a field of 10 for the local qualifiers.

Four amateurs Elizabeth Ang (handicap index 1.4), Callista Chen (0.4) Linette Chua (0.1) and Sarah Tan (0.1) will be making their debut.

The others taking part are Jen Goh (1.1), Koh Sock Hwee (0.0), Ashley Loh (1.1) and Amanda Tan (0.2).

The beauty of women's golf is that no one has dominated the world scene in the past two years.

That means that there is a strong possibility of a different winner at the seventh edition of the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore in March.

With the top 20 players in the Rolex World Rankings and winners of a few designated events making up the 54-woman field, picking a winner is anybody's guess.

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The world's six top-ranked players - Park Inbee, Lydia Ko, Stacy Lewis, Feng Shanshan, Suzann Pettersen and Michelle Wie - will be here to battle for honours in Asia's Major.

The eighth edition of HSBC's flagship championship will also see America's Paula Creamer defend the title she claimed so dramatically with the shot of the year in 2014 by sinking an epic 75-foot eagle putt in a play-off with Spain's Azahara Munoz.

Widely recognised as the best women's golf event staged by the LPGA in Asia, the tournament continues to build on its reputation as an event for champions.

Only the leading players in the world are invited to take on the challenge of the acclaimed yet brutal Serapong course.

South Korea's top-ranked Park, a four-time Major winner, is already looking forward to her Singapore foray.

She said: "This is one of the tournaments I really look forward to each year.

Singapore is a fantastic city and the tournament has a 'Major' feel to it with HSBC putting on a world-class event."

With a prize purse of US$1.4 million ($1.8m) and one of the most competitive qualification criteria of any LPGA tournament, spectators can look forward to another elite sporting event in the Lion City.

This article was first published on Jan 22, 2015.
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