It is almost certain for second-round co-leader Chien Pei-Yun (錢珮芸) to take the honor as the 2024 TLPGA Tour Money Winner (for local players only), with just one final round to go at the season-ending Taiwan Mobile Ladies Open.

But in fact, Chien only played a couple of TLPGA Tour events this entire year as she has spent most of her year on the LPGA Tour in the United States; Chien made 21 cuts out of 27 starts in the 2024 LPGA Tour season.

“It has been the busiest year for me since I joined the LPGA Tour in 2017,” Chien said. “America is big. The toughest part has to be all the traveling. I used to drive a lot to save some expenses. One time I drove eleven hours on my own to a tournament.”

“Now with my results going up, I can afford more flight tickets, which make the traveling less tiring,” Chien said with a smile. “It still feels expensive dining outside in the U.S., though. Sometimes it takes up to a 20% tip. So, I have been learning to cook for myself. It’s been a tough journey away from home, but I’m proud to have come such a long way, still here giving out my best efforts. I’m looking forward to more challenges in the next season!”

Hsu Wei-Ling (徐薇淩), who will be in her eleventh season on the LPGA Tour in 2025, is also finding ways to continue to make progress and survive the tough competition.

“I’m recently trying to gain some weight and build more muscles around my body to hopefully get more distance out of my game. I believe it will benefit my results,” said Hsu, who has one LPGA Tour title under the belt. The 30-year-old recorded 3 top-10s in 24 outings this year.

LPGA Tour major champion Yani Tseng (曾雅妮), on the other hand, is working hard to tone down to reduce the stress on her hip joint, which has received multiple surgeries over the past few years. She has so far successfully lost 7 kilos of weight and it shows her determination for the new season.

A “sister act” stole some attention today as Yang Fei-Chien (楊斐茜) and Yang Ya-Pin (楊亞賓) playing alongside each other in Group 27. Unfortunately, however, both of them failed to make the 36-hole cut by just one and two shots respectively. This is the second time in their young career the sisters tee up in the same group in a TLPGA Tour event.

There was another pair of sisters in action today. Former World Amateur No.1 Hou Vivian Yu-Chiang (侯羽薔) is sitting in a tie for 24th while her elder sister Hou Yu-Sang (侯羽桑) narrowly squeezed past the cut line in T49.