The Japan Taiwan Friendship Udon-Ken Ladies Golf Tournament is ready to roll on Friday at the Mannou Hills Country Club in Kagawa, Japan. The field of the JPY20,000,000 event is composed of 78 local players and 28 Taiwan LPGA Tour campaigners, who will be vying for a winner’s prize of JPY3,600,000 through three rounds, 54 holes of competition this weekend.

The tournament belongs to the Japan LPGA’s Step-Up Tour, and is co-sanctioned by the TLPGA Tour. OHK Okayama Broadcasting is the co-organizer. Chen Szu-Han (陳思涵), Chen I-Wen (陳依妏), and Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲) are the three players holding memberships on both Tours. There are sixteen Taiwanese, nine Japanese, and one from the United States entering this week’s event as a TLPGA Tour member, led by front-runners on the Official Money List with Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹), Yu Pei-Lin (余珮琳), Hanna Chen (陳子涵), Lee Hsin (李欣), Kuo Ai-Chen (郭艾榛) and the talented teenager Hou Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔).

The tradition of “Japan-Taiwan Friendship Tournament” has long been celebrated by golf athletes in both countries. In 2016, former JLPGA Tour player Tseng Hsiu-Feng (曾秀鳳) proposed to make an official pro event that is recognized on both tours, now that the TLPGA Tour had matured into a higher status. The idea quickly gained the support from JLPGA Commissioner Hiromi Kobayashi and TLPGA chairwoman Cheng Mei-Chi, as well as many Japanese sponsors. On last year’s Taiwan-Japan Tourism Summit Forum in Kagawa, which is famous for its "Sanuki Udon Noodles", the two associations confirmed the holding of the first annual Japan Taiwan Friendship Udon-Ken Ladies Golf Tournament.

Winner of the 2018 tournament will automatically be a sponsor exempt into the 2019 Fujisankei Ladies Classic (JLPGA Tour) and the Hitachi Ladies Classic (TLPGA Tour), and will be sent direct into the third-stage of the 2019 JLPGA Tour qualifying event, which will be held at the end of the 2018 season. A year’s worth of Nishino Kinryo Japanese Sake will also be awarded for Sunday’s champion.

Special prizes up for grabs include a JPY500,000 cheque, provided by Imabari Shipbuilding, for players to ace the 17th hole in the last round, as well as a JPY300,000 cheque, provided by Nishino Kinryo, for players to eagle the 18th hole.

The competition layout for the 2018 Japan Taiwan Friendship Udon-Ken Ladies Golf Tournament is set at 6,436 yards. There will be a cut after two rounds to send the top-50 and ties into the final round.