Title holder Ji Yuai of China will aim to become only the third player to successfully defend the Women’s China Open title when the CLPG Tour’s flagship CNY 1 million tournament begins on Friday.
The 20-year-old Ji, who is the reigning CLPG Tour No. 1 and a four-time winner, headlines a top field at the famed Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai which includes the country’s emerging youth brigade and aspiring stars from Southeast Asia.
Current CLPG Tour Order of Merit Leader Wang Zixuan, 2023 Women’s China Open winner Angelina Ye Lei and teenage talent such as Xu Ying, Zhou Shiyuan and Liu Yujie will be amongst the top Chinese players determined to keep the prestigious trophy on home soil, with the last three editions of the Women’s China Open being won by home-grown golfers.
Thailand’s Sherman Santiwiwattanaphong, who is currently No. 2 on the Order of Merit, will spearhead the international charge which includes Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuen, Singapore’s Amanda Ta and Indonesia’s Holly Victoria Halim, winner of the CLPG Tour Qualifying School earlier this year. With the tournament moving to Shanghai for the first time since its inauguration in 2006, defending champion Ji is cautiously charting her strategy to ensure she has every chance of joining Korea’s Jiyai Shin (2006/2007) and Hye-youn Kim (2010/2011) as the tournament’s third back-to-back champion. “It’s a unique experience to come to a new course to defend my title. I’m not very familiar with Enhance Anting, so I’ll make the most of the practice days to fine tune my strategy, focus on every shot and work towards the goals I’ve set for myself before the tournament,“ said Ji, who hails from Dalian.
Angelina Ye Lei, 24, is excited at the prospect of challenging for a second Women’s China Open following her maiden professional victory in the 2023 edition. She recalls with great fondness her lone triumph on the CLPG Tour. “That tournament was truly unforgettable. I was thrilled that my first professional win came from such a top-tier event as the Women’s China Open. It was a great recognition for me. I’m very happy to be back home. I hope I can stay composed throughout the tournament and give my best performance,“ said Ye.
Another player to watch is Malaysia’s Ng Jing Xuen, who wrote a slice of history when she became the first golfer from her nation to win the Southeast Asian Games individual gold medal in 2023. This week, she hopes to become the second player from Malaysia to win on the CLPG Tour after Michelle Koh, although she knows the playing standard in China is challenging. “It’ll be a great competition. There are a lot of good players in the tournament, but I will treat it as the same as other tournaments and not put pressure on myself. I’ll keep it simple and play it one shot at a time,“ said Ng.
The Women’s China Open boasts a field of 108 players in the three-day stroke-play competition where the top 60 players and ties will advance to the final round after the cut is set through 36 holes.
