An international field of 144 world’s elite players will return to San Francisco to compete for a share of the US$2 million purse at the 2016 Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic presented by CTBC. Seventeen out of the top-20 in the Rolex Rankings, headlined by women’s World No.1 golfer Lydia Ko, will be playing at the Lake Merced Golf Club and twenty-one top players from Taiwan will also tee it up on the super stage on April 21st as special invitations by Swinging Skirts.

The Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic is the first tournament of Taiwanese roots held on the United States soil. It is also the first co-sanction partnership between the LPGA and the LPGA of Taiwan. CTBC Bank has been this year’s main sponsor. New Zealander Ko has a chance to earn her third consecutive victories at Lake Merced. Top two Americans Lexi Thompson and Stacey Lewis, as well as Minjee Lee, LOTTE Championship winner on the past Sunday, are making their appearance as well.

Ko was on the practice range on Monday and already received plenty of spotlight. “I feel happy coming back to San Francisco. I like this course and there have been great memories,” said Ko. “I always appreciate the hospitality by the whole tournament and Swinging Skirts, and Johnson (Swinging Skirts Foundation Chairman Johnson Wang), who always made me feel at home here. I really look forward to playing this week.”

Other than LPGA members from Taiwan, Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), Candie Kung (龔怡萍), Hsu Wei-Lin (徐薇凌), and Lee Min (李旻), TLPGA members Chen Meng-Chu (陳孟竺), Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸), Chen I-Wen (陳依妏), Liang Yi-Lin (梁宜羚), Chang Hsuan-Ping (張瑄屏), Shih Huei-Ju (石惠如), Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹), who are all among top-10 on the TLPGA Tour Money List, and CTBC sponsor invitations Cheng Ssu-Chia (程思嘉), Kuo Ai-Chen (郭艾榛), Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒), Yeh Hsin-Ning (葉欣寧) are also ready to steal the show. There are six amateurs in the list including Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳), who finished T2 at Lake Wales at the Symetra Tour’s Florida’s Natural Charity Classic, Yu Han-Hsuan (俞涵軒), Lin Tze-Han (林子涵), Hung Jo-Hua (洪若華), and the Hou sisters Yu Chiang (侯雨薔) and Yu Sang (侯雨桑).

CTBC ambassador Hsu Wei-Lin posted the best scorecards by Taiwanese challengers at T35 and T45 in the previous two years. “This is a dream stage for all the golfers,” said Hsu after Monday’s practice. “I didn’t do well in Hawaii last week. It’s been difficult mentally because the more I want to perform well, the more I struggle. It’s a good learning process, though, trying not to let the pressure of the game get to my head.”

Lee Min, another young LPGA player representing Taiwan, made the cut at the LOTTE Championship last week. But she did not make in to the weekend last year at Lake Merced, and only finished with a disappointing T80 in the first year she played in 2014.

“It’s my official second year on the Tour. I’ve been giving myself a lot of expectation for the new season but it hasn’t been great,” said Lee. “The most important thing is to get my confidence back, and try to enjoy the game as much as when everything was fresh when I was a rookie. I feel like I’ve been making slow and steady improvement on adjusting the mindset and hopefully it shows on the result this week.”

There are some “sister act” to be performed at the Bay Area. Sisters of CTBC player Shi Yuting (石昱婷) and Canadian Brooke Henderson will be caddying for them while two pairs of sisters are featured in the final playing field- Thai Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn and the Hous from Taiwan.