There was fear the fourth edition of the Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open might have to face a late start after a morning downpour on Day 1 that caused some puddles of rain on the greens. Thanks to the well-functioning draining system on the Tong Hwa Club and a diligent effort by the course staffs, who pulled out big towels to get the greens quickly back into shape, the season finale went in action just in time as scheduled.

The weather turned friendly as the event progressed. Flashes of sunlight were bouncing off the grass as well as the golf clubs reflectively during the final-round play.

“It feels very different to play on these slow grass,” said two-time Japan LPGA Tour winner Phoebe Yao (姚宣榆), who has been absent from the JLPGA Tour for the first time in eight seasons this year because of the pandemic. She plans to return to the Japanese tour next February.

“I’ll need some time to adjust, that’s for sure. The grain is less of a factor on the golf courses in Japan, compared to here in Taiwan. Aside from the different playing conditions, what gave me a more difficult time was the fact that the Japanese players are playing with a fast rhythm. Their time to play through nine holes is usually about 15 minutes quicker than the Taiwanese players’,” Yao added.

“Good thing is I can be more relaxed on the road! I drove a lot in Japan, where the cars travel on the left, so when I’m in Taiwan this year, I found myself really nervous about driving on the right.”

For LPGA Tour player Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩), she will have to worry if she can even make her car start.

Hsu’s car was left untouched in her house in North Carolina since the tour suspension. She will be able to check it out finally after ten months when she returns to the U.S. to get ready for the new season next month.

On the men’s side, there is C.T. Pan flying the Taiwanese flag on the PGA Tour. Pan celebrated the best finish ever for a Taiwanese player at The Masters with a T7 and a final total of 10-under last month at the Augusta, which guarantees a return ticket next April for the 29-year-old.

Pan came to the Tong Hwa Club to show his support to the TLPGA Tour and cheer for the ladies. He also met Tong Hwa’s general manager Chen Tze-Chung, who was the first and only Taiwanese to have held a PGA Tour title before Pan came to the scene, and had some nice exchange with Chen about their memories at the Augusta.

2018 Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open champion Lee Min (李旻) is also in her seventh year on the U.S.-based Symetra Tour, although not taking part in the 2020 season for the COVID-19 situation.

The two-time Symetra Tour winner was also a main LPGA Tour player having her debut appearance in 2015, when she achieved her best career finish on the LPGA Tour with a T12 at the U.S. Women’s Open.

It’s not a surprise Lee is a fluent English speaker for her past experience but little do people know she can speak Japanese and Korean quite well, too. “I’m a super fan of the Japanese and Korean drama series,” Lee said. “I have many good friends from Japan and Korea. We were very close when we played in the U.S. and I probably picked up some languages from them.”

A huge music lover as she is, Lee spends her time not just striking the golf ball, but also guitar strings, as she did after yesterday’s second round competition. The new-found hobby becomes an outlet for her to the stress from the professional tour.