KUALA LUMPUR, 18 SEPTEMBER 2013 – With less than a month to go before the best in women’s golf arrive in Malaysia’s capital, organisers of the 2013 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia confirmed the participation of a further five top international golf stars in the US$2 million purse tournament which tees off on the East Course of the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) on 10 October.
Joining an already stellar field, which includes defending champion and World No.1 Inbee Park, are Australian Karrie Webb (No.7), Scotland’s Catriona Matthew (No.10), Taiwan’s Yani Tseng (No.19), Chie Arimura (No.46) from Japan and Michelle Wie (No.86) from the US. (Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, 16 September 2013.)
23-year-old Wie, a crowd favourite and the youngest player ever to qualify for a United States Golf Association amateur championship at the age of 10, revealed “I’ve always enjoyed coming to Malaysia – I get a lot of energy from the crowd because they are so welcoming and supportive. I’ve been working on my game a lot this year and have made some improvements so I hope this year I can give the fans something to cheer about.”
World Golf Hall of Fame member, Karrie Webb, who successfully clinched third place at last year’s tournament and claimed first place at the recent ShopRite LPGA Classic held in June, added, “I'm looking forward to returning to the Sime Darby LPGA. I played quite well last year, so I'm hoping carrying in some good form that I will enjoy another good week in Kuala Lumpur!”Another household favourite, 24-year-old Taiwanese player Yani Tseng, the youngest player ever to win five major championships and ranked No. 1 in the Women's World Golf Rankings for 109 consecutive weeks from 2011 to 2013, said “Being Taiwanese, I love playing in Asian countries because it reminds me of home. And it’s no difference for the Sime Darby LPGA – I only have good memories of Malaysia. I’ve been practicing a lot, and I hope I’ll be able to hit more birdies out there, and get a good challenge from the course. I’m looking forward to seeing the fans in Malaysia and can usually count on some pretty good support for the four days of tournament.”
With a purse of US$2 million, this year’s Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia features the tournament’s largest prize yet. Coupled with a world-class golf course and strong local fan base support, the tournament’s fourth edition will see an impressive field of 72 players participating in the 72-hole stroke play tournament with no cut. The field comprises the top 62 players from the LPGA Tour and 10 sponsor invites, including Malaysians Cindy Lee-Pridgen and Michelle Koh who won their invites at the Local & Regional Qualifying Tournament earlier this month.
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