With the HSBC Women’s World Championship less than two weeks away, Minjee Lee is eager for some thrilling action at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club. But that’s not the only thing on her mind; the World No 3 is excited to head back to the Little Red Dot not only for its endless serving of fascinating culture, but also some irresistible chilli crab!

The Perth native has been enjoying a few weeks off back home, and is more than ready to make her way to Southeast Asia for the prestigious tournament as well as the Honda Thailand LPGA, which kicks off this week.

“It’s been chill and the weather is nice and summery. So I’ve been having lots of time outside and obviously training as well,” shared Lee of her well-deserved time off.

Year-end breaks provide the perfect opportunity to enjoy some travelling and relaxation for most of us, and Lee is no different.

“I pretty much took all the time off from finishing the Aussie Open to the first week of January. I spent some time in Tasmania, in Korea. Since I’ve been back home, I went down south to Dunsborough, Eagle Bay. It’s been nice, it’s been really relaxing,” she shared.

With the Australian beginning her two-tournament Asian swing soon, Lee is pumped and eager to get back into the thick of fairway action having completely recharged from last year’s season. When asked about what she was most excited about, aside from the tourney itself, Lee couldn’t help but lean towards all that Singaporean food she’ll be chowing down soon!

“I’m really looking forward to going back and eating all the yummy food, and just being able to walk down the street … there’s always a lot of street food. Chilli crab is always a staple, also satay is always really good, and chicken rice,” enthused Lee.

She may be dreaming of Singapore chilli crab – and possibly other kinds of mouth-watering seafood – but the 26-year-old clearly has her eyes set on “bigger fish”, and that’s to focus on achieving her goals for 2023.

“For me they’re a lot around the Majors. I’m just going to do my best, and try to contend in all of them ... so yeah, a lot of the focus is around there,” said Lee.

“Also, the world ranking is always in the back of my mind. But I think with good play, that will follow. So I’m just going to focus on playing my own game and maintaining my ball-striking. My big goal is my putting, and probably my pitching this year, similar to last year because I think that’s where I can improve the most.”

As fans make their return for this year’s championship, players will once again have the chance to experience the thrill of having crowds showing their support for their favourites in the field. Lee, for one, feeds off the cheers and excitement from fans, and is elated to have things returning steadily to the way it was.

“We’re kind of getting back to normalcy and it’s more exciting with the fans coming back. Whenever you hit a good shot, or if you have a good score or good save, they’re always there to cheer you up. I think it makes you ride a bit more off the momentum ... there’s a bit more of a high when there are fans. The atmosphere is totally different. It just makes the tournament that much more exciting,” she said.

Leading the stellar line-up at the upcoming HSBC Women’s World Championship along with Lee are the rest of the top-five in the world, namely Lydia Ko (No 1), Nelly Korda (No 2) and Atthaya Thittikul (No 4). Defending champion Jin Young Ko will also be teeing it up at Sentosa Golf Club Singapore on March 2-5.

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