32 TLPGA Tour stars were invited into the very first Match-Play event in Tour history. The 2021 CTBC Invitational, originally the CTBC Ladies Open for the past eight years, is rewarding the winner, after five rounds of battle, with the biggest ever prize check worth NT$3 million.

The layout is set at 6,829 yards long, with the green speed increased to 9.5 and the roughs growing 2 inches taller, making it one of the most challenging backdrops to play against. The Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club, under strict measures and government instructions against COVID, will allow the players this week to take off their masks to release their full strengths.

The total purse was in fact guaranteed at NT$3,250,000 and $1 million to the champion, however, as CTBC Bank chairman Morris Li announced on today’s press conference, the total purse now reaches a record high NT$5,750,000 with a NT$3 million top prize. It’s going to be a grueling test for the final victor because she’ll be getting through five rounds to earn the title. Both the round-of-32 and round-of-16 will be played on Friday, and Saturday will further cut the field to the two best players after another two rounds, with an exciting final 18-hole duel taking place on Sunday.

“It’s very new to me this match-play format, which is going reward the brave. It’s going to take a lot out of you mentally, and the fitness level is going to be decisive,” said 2020 CTBC Ladies Open champion Hsieh Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲). “Especially on this new layout. I saw those par-3s at 195-200 yards long, which is much different from those at 150-160 we face on the normal tournaments. It’s going to be difficult.”

On her first-round draw against her good friend Huang Hsien-Wen (黃賢雯), Hsieh said, “yes, we train together a lot. That was tough luck, a little dramatic to me, because it’s never easy to play against a friend, but I believe we are both going to bring our best.”

Also finishing lowest at the 2020 CTBC Ladies Open, as an amateur player then, An Ho-Yu (安禾佑) will be making her first professional start this week. An is the newest player to join the CTBC Bank ambassador roaster. “I can hit big and I’m going to use that advantage to try to take the initiative. In a match-play, you have to play a bold game to take down your opponent. I like the faster greens actually, so the placement on my second shots is what I’ll be very careful about, hoping they set up as many birdie chances as possible for myself.”

An, who just turned 18, finished atop the leaderboard also at the Grin Cup Charity Open last year, had another top-10 finish at the Hitachi Ladies Classic, and she was the low amateur at the Victoria Open and Australian Open last year down under.

Lee Hsin (李欣) stands in An’s way in the round-of-32.

The 32-player draw is comprised of the top 26 on the 2020 TLPGA Tour money list as well as 6 sponsor exempts from CTBC Bank and Tong Hwa Golf & Country Club, which includes 3-time TLPGA Tour winner Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏) and promising newcomer June Ting (丁子云),

CTBC Bank has been a TLPGA Tour partner since 2012. The CTBC Ladies Open became the first TLPGA Tour event to be co-sanctioned by the China LPGA Tour in 2014. The attendance of the 2019 tournament reached a record high 7,500 during the three days. In 2020, the CTBC Ladies Open defied the COVID threats and offered one of the biggest international stages for the athletes the fans.

First-round action of the CTBC Invitational begins on Friday at 7:00 from the first and tenth tees before the second-round follows right after at 12:30. Only eight players will be surviving into Saturday.