Ko & Korda join Maguire & Meadow in star-studded Women’s World Championship field

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Nelly Korda (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

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World No.1 and 2, Lydia Ko and Nelly Korda will head the line-up along with defending champion Jin Young Ko at the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore, March 2-5.

The game’s leading duo join an all-star entry list that includes Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow as the LPGA Tour’s Asia Swing sweeps through Thailand, Singapore and China to tee off a globetrotting start to the year.

Maguire enters 2023 as Ireland’s leading player on the women’s charts and the world number 11 gets her season underway this week at the Tournament of Champions at her home base of Lake Nona having qualified via her maiden LPGA Tour victory last February at the Drive On.

Meadow sits 132nd in the world rankings but comfortably regained her LPGA Tour card for the 2023 season in which she’ll no doubt hope to follow Maguire’s lead and compete for a maiden ‘W’ on the Tour.

For that elusive win to arrive in Singapore would be a tall order, however, with Ko, Korda and Jin Young Ko all having held the No 1 position during 2022. The trio will be looking for a strong start in 2023 to try to hold or reclaim their position at the top of the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings with only 0.49 points separating the top two spots.

Lydia Ko, following a win at the season ending CME Group Tour Championship last year, returned to No.1 in the world for the first time since the summer of 2017. After a season that saw her win three times, she also won LPGA Player of the Year and the Vare Trophy for low scoring average of a remarkable 68.99.

Looking to better her highest finish of T7th at next year’s HSBC Women’s World Championship, Ko said: “I had an amazing year and to finish the season with a win and a return to the top of the world rankings was very special. Looking ahead to next season, Singapore is one of my favourite cities to visit and the HSBC Women’s World Championship is definitely an event I would love to win one day. It always has such a strong field and an amazing list of past champions that it would be such an honour to add my name to the list.”

Korda, who also had a November to remember, capturing her first title in 12 months after health issues saw her side-lined for four months earlier in the year. Her win at the Pelican Women’s Championship briefly returned Korda to World No. 1 until Ko won a week later.

Korda, who will also be joined by her sister Jessica, returns to Singapore for the first time since 2019 with the pair having curtailed their international travel during Covid times, explained: “We are so excited to return to Singapore having missed out the last couple of years. It is an awesome event, full of the best players in the world and HSBC really think of everything to make it such a special week for us.”

This year marks the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship and remarkably, of the 14 previous winners, 12 are Major champions, lending yet further credibility to the player’s claim that this is ‘Asia’s Major.’

Kee Joo Wong, CEO HSBC Singapore said: “HSBC Women’s World Championship is firmly established as a truly world-class event and showcases our commitment to opening up opportunities in women’s sport.  We are thrilled to see such a stellar line up for the 15th anniversary of the tournament and excited to welcome fans back this year.  Few places, if any, offer all the ingredients we have in Singapore. A dynamic global hub, the world’s best golfers, and the incredible setting of Sentosa, will make for another thrilling edition of ‘Asia’s Major’.”

The 72-hole stroke play tournament will once again be played on the renowned Tanjong Course at Sentosa Golf Club, which hosts its tenth edition of the tournament. Sentosa Golf Club is a leading light in driving sustainability initiatives in golf around the world and was recently named ‘World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility’ at the annual World Golf Awards.

For more information on the HSBC Women’s World Championship and all the latest news, please visit the tournament website at https://www.hsbcgolf.com/womens

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