After a two-season hiatus, the CTBC Ladies Open is back on the TLPGA Tour and is now presented in collaboration with the Japan LPGA, making it a JPY30,000,000 Step-Up Tour oversea leg—a historic first for the JLPGA’s secondary tour to travel outside of Japan. The best player standing after three-round of battles this Saturday will take away JPY5,400,000.

The backdrop this week is the Orient Golf & Country Club, which played host to the Hitachi Ladies Classic earlier this season. 61 TLPGA Tour members, 36 Step-Up Tour players, as well as 11 sponsor invites will tee off on Thursday in the co-sanctioned tournament.

“CTBC Bank has never been absent on the TLPGA Tour for the past couple of years actually, as we put up two highly successful invitational events. With the pandemic calming down, we’re excited to have brought back the iconic CTBC Ladies Open,” said CTBC Vice President Chen G-S. “Big thanks to the Orient Golf & Country Club for providing a venue in such great shape. I heard that the distance was cut short a little this year, playing at 6,452, so perhaps we could expect a week with more excitements and birdies flying.”

JLPGA Vice Chairlady Miki Oda, on today’s press conference, praised again the achievements of Tu Ai-Yu (涂阿玉), who pioneered for Taiwanese female golfers to have a place on the competitive JLPGA Tour. Her stellar career has earned her a lifetime membership to play in any JLPGA Tour event. “This October, we will also have the Japan Taiwan Friendship Udon-Ken Ladies Golf Tournament in Kagawa, Japan, which was first held in 2017. We look forward to more interaction and competition between the ‘JSU’ Tour and the TLPGA Tour,” Oda said.

“We welcome Miss Oda and her strong roaster of 36 JSU Tour elite players to Taiwan,” said TLPGA chairwoman Liu Yi-Chen. “Along with CTBC, the TLPGA is proud to make this historical moment happen with the CTBC Ladies Open being the very first oversea pitstop on the Step-Up Tour.” Orient Club GM, Kuo C-L. provided a warm reminder that the Bermuda grass used on the Orient course, which plays very different than the bent greens often found on the JSU Tour, “but don’t worry! Our caddies are more than happy to offer their knowledge.”

Hsien Yu-Ling (謝瑀玲) and An Ho-Yu (安禾佑) ended up sharing the first-place in the weather-shortened 2020 CTBC Ladies Open. Both came back to try “defend” their title after three years.

“I’ve had fond memories at the Orient. The key to playing well here I think is the control from the 100-yard range. The precision in irons and putter will be decisive,” An said, who just flew from the U.S. to prepare for the tournament last Thursday. “Yeah, I’ve finished five Epson Tour tournaments this year in America. I would love to still work on a number of things, my putting especially. Overall, though, I believe it’s been going better than last season, and I hope it continues to be.”

CTBC-sponsored Wu Chia-Yen (吳佳晏), who switched her focus this year to the Step-Up Tour, happily joined the co-sanctioned event back at home. “It’s been a mind-blowing experience this past few months in Japan. The level of competition is very high. You can slip down double-digit places when you drop a shot. The amount of pressure is quite intimidating, but I hope I’m finding my feet. I’m working hard with my team to fine-tune a lot of details in my game.” Wu was crowned the champion in the 2021 CTBC Invitational, followed by a runner-up finish in the 2022 edition.