The 2016 Taiwan LPGA Tour season officially kicks off tomorrow (Jan 8) at the Orient Golf & Country Club when 102 pro golfers from around the world will tee it up at the eighth annual Hitachi Ladies Classic. A four-time champion and the winner of the past three editions, Thai star Pornanong Phatlum is seeking to extend her title count to five in just six years. The winner will be determined on Sunday to be rewarded a cash prize worth NT$2.5 million.

The first round actions will start on Friday with an early tee time at 8:30 while the last group tees off at 10:54 in the morning.

The biggest hopes for local fans will include home course talent, 18-year-old Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉). Cheng played twelve tournaments on the Ladies European Tour in 2015, earning three top-10 finishes under her belt and sitting at number 13 on the LET’s 2015 Order of Merit.

“Actually I played my first Hitachi Ladies Classic when I was just 13,” said Cheng. “Playing on the LET last year is a totally refreshing experience. A mix of cultures, different types of courses, it has been very different from playing and training in Taiwan. I’m lucky to have the opportunities to travel around these countries and play golf.”

“For my first tournament here, again I hope I would just be able to have fun and see where my game is at after the winter break. I don’t set any specific goal for myself,” Cheng said. The Xiamen Open 2015 runner-up entered the LPGA Qualifying School final stage in December and finished in a tie for 36th, which will put her on the top alternates list in LPGA Tour events in 2016.

Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩), an LPGA Tour sophomore, said she will be going for the “best standing” for her first stop in 2016. “I think I really learned a lot playing in front of the world’s best in my first year in the U.S.,” said Hsu. “Playing so closely to them gives you the confidence knowing that you can be just as good as them, which means a lot to me. I hope I can do well this week and get my new season off to a nice start.”

“This is a challenging course here at the Orient Golf & Country Club,” said Japan LPGA member Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆), who is in an attempt to win back-to-back TLPGA Tour tournaments after clinching the 2015 year-end honor at the TLPGA Open.

“Especially with some big wind expected to come in the next few days, the conditions are going to be hard. I think my plan is to try to put every ball onto the green first, and then see if I get to pick up a few birdies here and there.” This will be Yao’s fifth appearance at the Hitachi Ladies Classic.

Hitachi Taiwan ambassador Yeh Hsin-Ning (葉欣寧) is also among contenders to take the glory on Sunday.

A Pro-Am event is held on Wednesday with 41 pro athletes and 123 leisure players swinging in groups using the Preferred Lies rule. In the end, the team led by last year’s runner-up, Chen Meng-Chu (陳孟竺), alongside her playing partners Chen M.C. (陳茂慶), Chen W.C. (陳文昌), and Hsieh C.H. (謝俊賢), came up together with a 12-under-par 60 to win themselves new Hitachi air conditioners.

One of the main focuses for the Hitachi Ladies Classic is to help raise awareness, through the attention to the golf game, for the causes by local charities and shine a light on the issues which need to be noticed and cared about. The event has donated more than NT$30 million over the last seven year benefitting nine charity partners.

The NT$ 10 million event presented by Hitachi Ltd. and Taiwan Hitachi Co., Ltd. is the very first pro golf tour event globally and will be the first to offer any world golf ranking points as well. The points will be counted toward the Rio Olympic Games qualification.

Book your tickets now at http://www.ticket.com.tw/dm.asp?P1=7000000410. Fans can utilize the additional shuttle bus service on the weekends at Exit 1 of Taipei MRT Line 4 Huilong Station. For more information on the 2015 Hitachi Ladies Classic, please visit the tournament website at http://www.taiwan-hitachi.com.tw/