The TLPGA Tour will be back in action this week at the Gold Coast Golf and Country Club in New Taipei City. 102 players from the world will be vying for a NT$630,000 top prize in the NT$3.5 million 2024 Friends of TLPGA Open.

This is the second annual Friends of TLPGA Open, which features a big NT$500,000 purse increase from its first edition in 2023. Taipei’s CTCI Group plays an important role in the prize boost.

Defending champion P.K. Kongkraphan from Thailand will be hoping to retain her title. She wrapped it up at 3-under 213, after an impressive final-round 64, to grab her second TLPGA Tour victory in the event’s 2023 edition.

Shih Cheng-Hsuan (石澄璇) is setting her sight on taking a second victory in a row. She ended her four-year victory drought at the recent Taiwan Prosperity Ladies Open just before the Tour’s summer break. Chen Yu-Ju (陳宇茹), Wang Li-Ning (王莉甯), Chen Hsuan (陳萱), and Chen Ling-Jie (陳伶潔) are some of the most in-form players on the tour at the moment as well.

The “Friends of TLPGA”, which was founded three years ago by a group of golf-loving, local entrepreneurs, developed a three-year “Friends of TLPGA” sponsorship program in 2021-2023, providing 30 up-and-coming TLPGA players (50 in the third year) direct financial aid on a monthly basis. “During the very challenging time of the Covid pandemic, we hoped this program could offer these talented golfers the extra confidence they need to pursue high,” said Friends of TLPGA executive manager Huang J-C.

“These sponsorship supports are of great significance for players’ future development, encouraging to them to be able to travel overseas and gain international experiences,” TLPGA chairwoman Liu Yi-Chen said. “We are delighted to see this program come to fruition after three years as a record-high 18 program players already have made new presence on the U.S. pro circuits so far this season.”

New Taipei’s Gold Coast Golf and Country Club is again the backdrop this week. The players tested the course one last time today in the pro-am warm-up event. The official competition starts on Wednesday, with the competition layout set at 6,335 yards long. Four hole-in-one prizes will be up for grabs during all three rounds, provided by SAMPO, Eagle Golf, Departure, and BESV Bike.