Karrie Webb

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Webb up against power-house field

Sixty three of the World’s best are set to tee off on Thursday in the 5th HSBC Womens Champions at the Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore, including defending champion Karrie Webb of Australia and World No 1 Yan Tseng of Chinese Taipei.

Tseng, who strongly underlined her high status when she successfully defended her Honda LPGA Thailand tile on Sunday, is one of the 18 of the World’s top 20 who will be bidding to prevent Webb of Australia from taking home the Champions crown for the second year running

Other 2011 champions from across globe who are in the field include World Nos 2, 3, 4 and 5, namely Suzann Pettersen of Norway, Na Yeon Choi of South Korea and Cristie Kerr and Paula Creamer of the USA. 

Jiyai Shin and Ai Miyazato, each of them winners of the HSBC Women’s Champions in 2009 and 2010 respectively and both briefly World No 1s during the past couple of years, are also in the field - and more than that, they both made it clear when they arrived in Singapore this week that they were eager to win back the crown.

High profile women golfers Michelle Wie and Natalie Gulbis are also on the list of players hoping to win the coveted title for the first time

The entry list reads like a who’s who of golf with a staggering 49 of the 50 top ranked players on the final LPGA Official Money List of 2011 making the journey to Singapore for a tournament now widely regarded as ‘Asia’s Major’.

Players from 18 nations who between them have won more than 450 international tournaments and 36 Major titles will be represented at this year’s tournament, according to Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship at HSBC.

He said: “We are very much looking forward to seeing this elite field compete for a title that has, so far, only been won by players’ who have held the No.1 World Ranking.

“We try to make our tournaments a special experience, not only for our customers and spectators, but also for the players and I think that the entry list shows that the HSBC Women’s Champions has developed into a tournament that no one wants to miss.

“The players are the most important part of any tournament and, with this incredible line-up, we really feel we have all the ingredients to have our best ever HSBC Women’s Champions.”

Robbie Henchman, Co-Global Managing Director and Senior Vice President of IMG Golf added: “Once again the HSBC Women’s Champions has attracted the world’s best players to Singapore and this year the field is stronger than ever.

“HSBC work very hard to ensure every aspect of the tournament is of the highest calibre and remarkably we seem to manage to raise the bar every year,” he added.