Hull made her professional debut on the LET in March, 2013, at age 17, and instantly surprised the golf world with her fascinating skills with a thrilling five runner-up finishes in a row, including a play-off defeat at the UniCredit Ladies German Open.

 

Calm and collected with a fearless style of play, Hull made another 5 top-ten finishes in the calendar year and was named Rookie of the Year with a ranking of no.6 on the tour’s Order of Merit. She was also selected as a team member, the youngest ever to be recruited, to represent Europe in the 2013 Solheim Cup where they became the first European squad to win the event on away turf.

 

In 2014, Hull became a professional titlist, winning the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco after a sudden-death play-off. With additional two second-place finishes and four top-tens, Hull wrapped up the year on top of the Order of Merit at the age of just 18.

 

Hull is not the only teenage contender who will be in the center of attention this week. Another LET winner, 17-year-old Taiwanese Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) will be hoping to get the win for home fans at the NT$10 million tournament as she makes her pro debut.

 

Having had already four victories under her belt as an amateur, including the CLPGA and LET co-sanctioned Xiamen Open in November, Cheng announced her decision to turn pro on in December 2014, with a professional ranking of 145th.

 

Thai sensation Ariya Jutanugarn, who made a name for herself two years ago at the 2013 Honda LPGA Thailand, where she led by three shots going into the final hole and ultimately lost by one shot to Inbee Park, is well among the fans’ favorites to lift the title.

 

Her compatriot and defending champion Pornanong Phatlum is also back to the Orient Golf & Country Club to chase her fourth and third consecutive Hitachi Ladies Classic victory.

 

Last year, the iconic Thai star rose above the pack for her fourth victory at this event following wins in 2011, 2012-2014, using a three-round total of 208 (70-69-69) to outclass her closest rival, Taiwanese Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸) by 5 shots. Other than the Hitachi Ladies Classic, Phatlum has also three-peated in 2010-2012 at the Hero Women's Indian Open of LAGT.

 

Chien, the year-end No.1 on the 2014 TLPGA Tour Money List, will be seeking a breakthrough first victory, finishing just short at second on multiple occasions, including at the 2014 Hitachi Ladies Classic.

 

2014 Japan LPGA season-ending Ricoh Cup champion Teresa Lu (盧曉晴) will join Phatlum and Chien to head the lineup made up of 108 professional players from eight countries and 19 local juniors. Lu followed her breakthrough year in 2013 when she lifted Mizuno Classic title and propelled herself even higher in 2014, taking three JLPGA victories including two majors, with a fairytale ending in the Ricoh Cup the Tour Championship in Miyazaki, where she racked up a 25 million yen winner prize and broke the 100 million yen mark in annual prize earning. Lu climbed up to a career high World Ranking of 32nd after the week.

 

Some other JLPGA members to watch include 2014 ITO EN Ladies Golf Tournament winner Maeda Yoko, Azuma Hiroko, Nagai Natsu, and Nagata Aoi.

 

LPGA Tour Cards winner from the 2014 Symetra Tour, Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩) and Lee Min (李旻), JLPGA Tour winner Phoebe Yao (姚宣瑜), and CLPGA Tour titlists Babe Liu (劉依貞) and Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒) are some notable local names in the competitive list of entries.

 

This year the 2015 Hitachi Ladies Classic marks its seventh edition of the tournament, staged as the season-opening event on the TLPGA Tour for the second straight year. The purse has been increased to NT$ 10 million since 2013 from NT$4 million in its inception year.

 

The tournament will be contested over 54 holes of stroke play with a cut off the top 50 on Saturday. Annual proceeds from the tournament and an equal bonus from Hitachi Ltd. and Taiwan Hitachi Co., Ltd. will be used to benefit nine local charities. Over the last six years, the tournament has raised donation exceeding NT$25 million.