Setting Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club abuzz today were five of the world’s top-ranked players – World No 1 Lydia Ko, No 2 Nelly Korda, No 3 Minjee Lee, No 6 Brooke Henderson and No 5 Jin Young Ko, who’s also the 2022 champion – as they gathered to kick off the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship, to be played on March 2-5.

The world’s best lady golfers enjoyed a special preview of all the activities on offer in the new spectator village, with defending champ Jin cutting the ceremonial ribbon to mark the opening of the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship, ready to welcome back fans on site for the first time since 2019.

“Winning last year was very special but I really missed having fans there to celebrate the victory with me, so it will be fantastic to see everyone back this year,” said Jin. “I am delighted to be able to declare the 15th edition of the HSBC Women’s World Championship open and we can’t wait to see everyone here at Sentosa this week.”

Ko echoed the sentiment, saying, “I’m so happy to hear that we will have fans back this year but I am even more delighted for our tournament sponsor HSBC to have fans back on site to celebrate this important 15th anniversary with them. It’s only Tuesday of tournament week and I can already feel the atmosphere building and I can’t wait to tee off on Thursday.”

Florida native Korda was equally excited. “It is so nice to be back in Singapore again. I played a practice round this morning and the course is in absolutely perfect condition, the set-up looks great and, of course, everything is absolutely beautiful.

“Opening the village up this afternoon with Lydia, Minjee, Brooke and JK definitely showcases how strong the field is for this special 15th anniversary edition. Hopefully we will all have a great week and put on a fun show to help welcome everyone back,” added the 24-year-old.

HSBC Singapore CEO Kee Joo Wong re-iterated that HSBC is committed to opening up a world of opportunity for women in sport and to bringing the best of the world to Singapore.

“We are thrilled with the world-class line-up for the 15th anniversary of the HSBC Women's World Championship and we can't wait to celebrate this milestone with the golfers and fans, as well as our customers, colleagues and communities,” said Kee.

All of last year’s Major champions are in the line-up alongside Australian Lee (US Open) and Canadian Henderson (The Amundi Evian Championship), namely American Jennifer Kupcho (The Chevron Championship), South Korean In Gee Chun (KPMG LPGA Championship) and South African Ashleigh Buhai (AIG Women’s Open) – each looking to win the coveted title for the first time.

Twelve of the HSBC Women’s World Championship’s previous editions were won by Major champions, lending yet further credibility to the player’s claim that this is ‘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 10th 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.

Confirmed partners of the 2023 HSBC Women’s World Championship are: Sentosa, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Lexus, Rolex, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Airlines, AON, ECCO, Mandarin Oriental, Panasonic, Penfolds, Puma, Epson, COBRA Golf, Titleist, Sony, Ice Mountain, 100 Plus, TikTok and Nunchi Marine.

For more information on the tournament, visit HSBC Women’s World Championship.