The world’s best female golfers will be back in action at the Lake Merced Golf Club to compete for a share of the US$2 million purse at the 2016 Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic presented by CTBC, running through Friday, April 21st to Sunday. A welcome dinner was hosted by the Swinging Skirts Foundation at the San Francisco City Hall on Tuesday.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, former Taiwan Foreign Minister Tian, former Taiwan Minister of the Interior Yu, CTBC Bank Chairman Tung, and Swinging Skirts Foundation Chairman Johnson Wang were among the honorable guests.

Elite golfers Lydia Ko, Lexi Thompson, CTBC ambassadors Hsu Wei-Lin (徐薇凌) and Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉) and more LPGA stars all glammed up and stepped out for the welcome dinner.

“I’m a huge fan of the LPGA Tour. I’m always amazed by how these incredible women can do on a golf course. San Francisco and the Lake Merced are the ideal place you can find for an LPGA event,” said Mayor Lee. “The Bay Area has been hosting some of the best sporting events in the world in partnership with the MLB, and the NBA Warriors. It’s been a tremendous honor we’ve been able to put together another treat for the golf fans in San Francisco with the LPGA Tour.”

“It feels extra special where we stand with Taiwan and Swinging Skirts, for this grand tournament to happen in our hometown. This stage leads to dream-come-true opportunities and we’re proud we can be part of the stories.” said Lee, who is of Chinese descent. “I would like to take this chance to thank all the sponsors and supporters for this event. I hope we can continue to host the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic that belongs on the golf calendar in San Francisco for years beyond this.”

“There’s too much history for us to stop what we’ve been doing,” said Wang. “It’s been valuable especially for Taiwanese players who can come out and compete against other top players from around the world.”

“I believe the fans and the related authorities in Taiwan will continue to support us as we showcase all that Taiwan has to offer in one of Asia’s biggest gateway cities. And we will always hold the responsibility to help grow the game not just in Taiwan but on a global picture,” Wang said. Swinging Skirts is a Taiwan-based nonprofit organization.

“CTBC Bank is proud to support the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic and to join with the world’s greatest golfers in the game,” said CTBC Bank Chairman Tung. “We are doing our best to provide a bridge to our home athletes to the world for more successful career and future. I hope this event is here to stay as a fixture on the golf map and CTBC will be with it at all times.”

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco was the co-host of the welcome dinner. The San Francisco City Hall was decorated with flags and projection on the wall and pillars of flags of Taiwan R.O.C.. Lee and Wang paid mutual tributes by delivering a 50th Super Bowl anniversary ball and sculptures by Hung Yi, an acclaimed contemporary artist from Taiwan, respectively.

Performance artist David Garibaldi, known for his fast-paced, performance-style painting and invited by Wang, took less than 10 minutes to make a portrait of the world number one female golfer Lydia Ko at the dinner party on Tuesday, and needed just another 10 minutes to complete a drawing of Mayor Lee.