Tour Competition Rekindled This Week at the Lily Golf & Country Club

The TLPGA Tour competition is going to be rekindled on Tuesday when the YICHEN Heritage Tour tees off. 43 pro elites and 51 junior and amateur players will be looking to make a statement in the first tournament since the Tour went on in a lockdown in May. The winner in the NT$600,000, 36-hole pro-junior tournament will take away a NT$71,000 cash prize.

Going by government’s restrictions due to rise in COVID-19 cases in Taiwan, the TLPGA Tour was forced to be put off since mid-May. “I believe it’s been a very hard time especially for the players without the chances to compete and make an earning. Our duty, on top of anything, is to build a financially-heathy environment to boost the growth of golf in Taiwan. For players, it’s vital they can compete regularly and earn prizes to further support their training and other expenses to improve,” said TLPGA Chairwoman Liu Yi-Chen.

“During this lockdown, I talked to my students from the past and now, some of them are very established in their own fields of activities, that we desperately need new sponsors so that when the tour resumes, we can provide a more intensive schedule for players to make up their losses. At the end, they are so supportive, which I was very touched about. They were making donations as individuals, without asking anything back. We are truly like a big family. I would also like to express thanks to the WIN Semiconductors and the Lily Golf & Country Club for their generous help so we can put it all together and make this event possible in such a short time span.”

Last year, the NT$1.5 million YICHEN Future Open saw Hou Yu-Chiang (侯雨薔) shoot up to the top of the world amateur golf rankings after a top-10 finish in the WWGR-approved professional event.

This year, the event becomes a part of the Heritage Tour system, with a format in which the pros and amateur players are paired in the same group so the young ones can closely interact with the elites and pick up some valuable experience. “To me, it gives a special meaning that a tournament named after me is now a Heritage Tour event, with a vision to help the youngsters to break through to the first league and establish themselves as early as they can, which is also what I’ve been working on in my academy.”

The venue this week is Lily Golf & Country Club, a new partner of the TLPGA Tour.

Notable names in the field this week includes defending champion Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), a break-out star in her rookie season in 2020, lifting multiple wins at Nan Pao Heritage Tour, WPG Ladies Open, YICHEN Future Open, and finishing in the top-6 on five more occasions.

Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲), who secured back-to-back victories this time last year at the SUNCITY Golf Camp Heritage Tour and the CTBC Ladies Open, will also be one of the title hopefuls.