Patty for Sentosa debut

After thrilling fans with her win at the ANA Inspiration earlier this month, Thai rookie Patty Tavatanakit will be looking to build on her recent success when she competes in the April 29-May 2 HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club.

The event's organisers announced yesterday that a sponsorship invitation was issued to the 21-year-old, who will be making her debut in the competition.

Singapore's top women's golfer Amanda Tan also received a sponsorship invitation and will make her fourth appearance at the championship. It was also announced that reigning US Women's Open champion Kim A-lim from South Korea and Denmark's Emily Pedersen will be part of the star-studded 69-player field.

Patty said on the back of winning the year's first Major: "I'm feeling good about where my game is right now, and I really feel ready to take on the rest of the season.

"The win at the ANA Inspiration hasn't really sunk in yet, but I'm so grateful to my coaches and trainers who helped make that lifelong dream a reality.

"I'm really excited to play the HSBC Women's World Championship for the first time, which is a tournament I've always followed from home in Thailand. I'll be familiar with the conditions in Singapore so hope I can do well. A big thank-you to HSBC and I look forward to seeing you in Singapore."

The likes of defending champion Park Sung-hyun, world No. 1 Ko Jin-young and 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist Park In-bee will also feature in the competition, alongside Chinese star Feng Shanshan, Japanese duo Nasa Hataoka and Hinako Shibuno, ranked 10th and 18th in the world respectively, and former world No. 1s Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand and Lydia Ko of New Zealand.

Tan, 22, said: "It's a great honour to represent Singapore once again and especially to play at Sentosa Golf Club, which is my home club.

"As always, I'm really looking forward to it and will do my absolute best to give all the fans at home something to cheer about."

This year's event will allow 250 fans - all corporate guests - daily. Last year's event was cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Olfert De Wit, interim chief executive of HSBC Singapore, said: "The HSBC Women's World Championship is our flagship event in women's golf and we are thrilled to have recently announced our ongoing commitment as title partner of the event.

"Hosting this tournament in one of HSBC's most important international hubs showcases our firm commitment to Singapore and women in sport.

"Since 2008, we have brought world-class golf to Singapore through our support of 'Asia's Major' with the long-term aim of inspiring the next generation of talent in the region.

"We are delighted to be able to extend sponsor invitations to such exciting Asian talent as Patty and Amanda and to be able to open up this opportunity for them both."