The first annual Xiu Ju Cup Senior Ladies Tournament needed five play-off holes to decide the winner.

As continuous rain again played havoc to the schedule, officials made an announcement at 11:00 this morning, which was already three hours late of the original tee time, to shorten the final round to nine holes. In the end, overnight leader Huang Hui-Fan (黃慧芳) locked down the victory at the Suncity Golf Club in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

The NT$500,000 event marks the first-ever official senior tournament on the TLPGA Tour schedule.

Following a first-round 74 yesterday, Huang dropped two shots in the last two holes and wrapped up with a Wednesday 2-over 38, which sent her down into a tie with compatriot Tseng Hsiu-Feng (曾秀鳳), who made one birdie and two bogey for a 37, and Japanese Mayumi Chinzei, who nailed down three birdies but all spent with three bogeys. The trio finished tied at 4-over 112, and according to the rules, they made their way to the 18th for the sudden death play-off.

Tseng fell out of the race by knocking her tee shot into the right woods and finally needing six shots to complete. Huang and Chinzei, who left with pars in the first attempt, couldn’t break the tie as their second try ended with pars again.

They moved to the 10th and 11th for the third and fourth play-off holes. As good as the former main tour champions played, their birdie putts would just slide by in the last moment.

The pair came back up to the 10th tee for their fifth tie-breaker, and calmly send the ball onto the green in two shots. Chinzei, though, set herself up in one of the worse places she could be, leaving a slippery downhill trail which ultimately took her three attempts to settle.

On the other hand, Huang’s uphill putt looked a lot friendlier. Although missing the birdie try, Huang took a few longer assessments before she finally moved in and sank the par putt, which made her the first Xiu Ju Cup winner. The victory is worth NT$100,000.

“I felt really proud of myself to be able to will myself through these tough conditions,” said Huang. “I’ll need to give my daughter a lot of credits because she was there to give me lots of strength. Those looks in her eyes and hand gestures cheering me up did wonders. I felt very powerful even till the end, in the chilling rains.”

“My most recent victory came 18 years ago, when my baby daughter was just two! Now she’s a college player herself. I really wanted to make her proud as well by winning this and showed her that mom’s still rocking it!”

Just completing a “three-peat” at the Fukuya Cup last week on the JLPGA Legends Tour, Huang Bie-Shyun (黃璧洵) shot one birdie and two bogeys today and moved up to a solo fourth finish.

Mika Nagaishi of Japan and Changhua-native Ho Po-Hsia (何柏霞) finished in a tie for fifth at 116 after matching 40s on Wednesday.

Chang Mei-Chu (張美珠) is another shot away, wrapping up the tournament in lone seventh. Huang Yueh-Chyn (黃玥珡) registered a 1-over 37 with one birdie and two bogey to end in solo eighth.

“It’s been extremely wet. You can see rainwater collects in puddles everywhere. But these veteran fighters were fearless out there and still gave us such beautiful golf and never compromised. They set great examples for the youngsters,” TLPGA chairwoman Cheng Mei-Chi (鄭美琦) said.

The TLPGA-organized tournament was put into plan and supported by SAMPO Corporation chairman Chen Sheng-Tien, wishing to commemorate the spirit of his passed mother Chen Chang Xiu Ju on the eve of her 100th birthday who shared a contagious positivity and a fearlessness of age that inspired many of her peers to envision their dreams. For 25 years, the Chen Chang Xiu Ju Foundation has been working at all levels to bring in a cultural shift in the local society.