Top Taiwanese women are heading for their final competition for the 2020 TLPGA Tour season. The NT$3 million Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open is set to play through a 54-hole, stroke-play format from December 23 to 25. Reigning champion Lin Tzu-Chi (林子麒) is hoping to return to winning ways back here at the Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club.

Highest-ranked Taiwanese player in the world, LPGA Tour member Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩) gave up her chance to play at the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month to instead join the home Tour finale. “I played three tournaments on the LPGA Tour at the beginning of the year, just starting to play myself into some decent form and getting ready for the Tokyo Olympics, and then everything was forced to a pause because of the virus,” Hsu said, who kept a busy training schedule to make sure she stayed competitive and continued to test herself when the TLPGA Tour resumed into action in June. Hsu, a Taiwan Mobile ambassador, recorded two top-10 finishes this season.

Lee Min (李旻) is riding high with confidence after capturing her fourth career victory with a final total of 15-under last month at the Party Golfers Open, first after her victory here at the Taiwan Mobile Open in 2018. Lee was one of the four players to ace the 16th hole on the Tong Hwa course in the history-making year.

Lee could have pushed her title count to five had she secured her 36-hole lead at the Wistron Ladies Open in October. Her first two career triumphs came at the 2016 TLPGA Royal Open and the 2017 Hitachi Ladies Classic.

With only one tournament left on the schedule, Korea LPGA Tour campaigner Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹) has already clinched the honor as the 2020 TLPGA Tour Money Winner, a feat she achieved in 2018 as well. A win this week will be like a cherry on the cake. In fact, the 2020 Hitachi Ladies Classic champion made fourth appearances in the pandemic-stuck KLPGA Tour season, with her best showing, however, only a share of the 17th place at the McCol Yongpyong Resort Open.

In the tournament’s three-year history, only once the title was taken by a non-Taiwanese player. Ploychompoo Wilairungrueng of Thailand outlasted local favorite Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆) in the play-off to win the first annual Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open in 2017. For her disappointment, Yao’s 2020 TLPGA Tour season was highlighted only by two runner-up finishes. The Japan LPGA Tour titlist will be needing to find that little something extra this week to move one step further.

Defending champion Lin Tzu-Chi is yet to finish in the top-10 this season but will surely bring her best effort in hope to relive her happy memories.

JLPGA member Tsai Pei-Ying (蔡佩穎), U.S.-based Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸), and, among the TLPGA Tour top-20, Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), Babe Liu (劉嬿), and Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) are all in the 96-player field. With the boarder restrictions set to prevent the spread of coronavirus, this year’s event is not open to international players but it reserves places for 28 amateur golfers to join the field, including World No.2 Hou Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) and 2019 Hitachi Ladies Classic runner-up Chang Ya-Chun (張雅淳) who are both well capable of stealing the victory.

“With Taiwan’s success in containing the pandemic, we’re lucky to have our fourth Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open go as planned, and to share this platform with so many talented ladies to deliver some world-class golf,” said Chairman at Taiwan Mobile, Daniel Tsai. “I believe this vitality and persistence under adversity reflect the spirit of our new vision to ‘Open Possible’ at Taiwan Mobile, as we push to break boundaries and create new possibilities for a better future.”

A cut will be made after Thursday’s second round, sending only the top-50 and ties into the final day. For more information on the 2020 Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open, please explore https://www.taiwanmobile.com/twmTLPGA2020/