Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship Preview – 2018

Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship Preview

CHINESE TAIPEI WELCOMES THE LPGA

The 2018 fall Asia swing makes its third stop at the eighth playing of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship presented by CTBC at Ta Shee Golf & Country Club. 62 of the world’s top ranked female players on the LPGA Money List, joined by 10 players from the Taiwan LPGA and nine sponsor invitations make up the field of 81 players competing for a purse of $2.2 million USD in the no-cut event.

Golf fans can bet online here for this and other golf tournaments. It’s a good way to make the tournaments more interesting.

The Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship will be played at Ta Shee Golf & Country Club for the first time this year. 2017 champion Eun-Hee Ji is back to defend after charging to a six-stroke victory for her third career victory and first since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open – Ji’s victory margin tied for the largest on Tour last season.

 

CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT

81 players; 72 holes, stroke play; No cut

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SWINGING SKIRTS LPGA TAIWAN CHAMPIONSHIP

• This week marks the eighth playing of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship
• The tournament is co-sanctioned by the LPGA and the Taiwan LPGA (TLPGA)
• The Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship is the third event in the LPGA’s fall Asia Swing, following events in the Republic of Korea and China – two events remain in the Asia Swing following this week, in Japan and once more in China
• Previously, the event was played at Sunrise Golf & Country Club from 2011-13, and at Miramar Resort & Country Club from 2014-17
• The field consists of 62 of the world’s top ranked players on the LPGA Money List, 10 from TLPGA and nine sponsor invites
• Three past champions are in the field: Eun-Hee Ji (2017), Lydia Ko (2015) and Yani Tseng (2011)

 

PURSE

$2.2 million USD; winner’s portion is $330,000

SOCIAL MEDIA

Tournament: @Swinging_Skirts (Twitter), @swingingskirts_golf_foundation (Instagram), #SwingingSkirts

LPGA: @LPGA, @LPGAMedia (Twitter), @lpga_tour (Instagram)

TV TIMES (all times Eastern)

Thursday, October 25 – 6:00-9:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)

Friday, October 26 – 8:00-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)

Saturday, October 27 – 8:00-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel)

Sunday, October 28 – 9:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. (Golf Channel)

 

WHITELINE PAR AND YARDAGE

35-36–72, 6,582 yards (par and yardage are subject to change through the start of the tournament)

 

PAST CHAMPIONS AND RUNNERS-UP

2017: Eun-Hee Ji, 271 (-17); Lydia Ko, 277 (-11)

2016: Ha Na Jang, 271 (-17); Shanshan Feng, 272 (-16)

2015: Lydia Ko, 268 (-20); So Yeon Ryu, Eun-Hee Ji, 277 (-11)

2014: Inbee Park, 266 (-22); Stacy Lewis, 268 (-20)

2013: Suzann Pettersen, 279 (-9); Azahara Munoz, 284 (-4)

 

TOURNAMENT SCORING RECORDS

18 holes: 62, four players, most recently Ha Na Jang and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Third Round, 2014

36 holes: 126, Inbee Park, 2014

54 holes: 195, Inbee Park, 2014

72 holes: 266, Inbee Park, 2014

 

PAST CHAMPIONSHIP SITES

2011-2013 – Sunrise Golf & Country Club

2014-2017 – Miramar Resort & Country Club

2018 – Tashee Golf & Country Club

 

WHO’S IN THE SWINGING SKIRTS LPGA TAIWAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Taiwanese players on LPGA (4):

Peiyun Chien, Wei-Ling Hsu, Candie Kung, Yani Tseng

TLPGA Players (10):

Szu-Han Chen, Hsin Lee, Min-Jou Chen, Ching Huang, Babe Liu, Teresa Lu, Candie Kung, Pei-Ying Tsai, Yu-Ju Chen, Yani Tseng

Sponsor Invite/TLPGA (9):

Yu-Chiang Hou (a), Yu-Sang Hou (a), Hsin-Ning Yeh (a), Chia Yen Wu (a), Hsin-Yu Lu (a), Rose Zhang (a), Ting-Hsuan Huang (a), Ho-Yu An (a), Attaya Thitikul (a)

2018 LPGA Tournament Winners (14 of 28):

Sung Hyun Park (Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Indy Women in Tech Championship Driven by Group 1001), Brooke Henderson (LOTTE Championship presented by Hershey, CP Women’s Open), Jin Young Ko (ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open), Eun-Hee Ji (Kia Classic), Pernilla Lindberg (ANA Inspiration), Moriya Jutanugarn (HUGEL-JTBC LA Open), Lydia Ko (LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship), Minjee Lee (LPGA Volvik Championship), Annie Park (ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer), So Yeon Ryu (Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give), Nasa Hataoka (Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G), Sei Young Kim (Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic), Thidapa Suwannapura (Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I), Danielle Kang (Buick LPGA Shanghai)

2018 LPGA Rookies (4 of 30):

Hannah Green, Jin Young Ko, Emma Talley, Maria Torres

 

STATS TO KNOW (Through October 21)

2018 STATISTICAL LEADERS

Official Money: Ariya Jutanugarn, $2,459,240

Scoring Average: Ariya Jutanugarn, 69.379

Driving Distance Average: Yani Tseng, 276.1

Eagles: Lexi Thompson, 14

Birdies: Ariya Jutanugarn, 421

Greens in Regulation: Jin Young Ko, 77.4%

 

2018 AWARD STANDINGS (*denotes winner)

Rolex Player of the Year: Ariya Jutanugarn, 219

Race to the CME Globe: Ariya Jutanugarn, 4,002

Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year: Jin Young Ko, 1,137

Rolex ANNIKA Major Award: Ariya Jutanugarn*, 88

2018 WINS BY COUNTRY (28 tournaments, 23 different winners from 9 countries)

9 – Republic of Korea (Jin Young Ko, Inbee Park, Eun-Hee Ji, Sung Hyun Park* (3), So Yeon Ryu, Sei Young Kim, In Gee Chun)

7 – United States (Brittany Lincicome, Jessica Korda, Michelle Wie, Annie Park, Marina Alex, Angela Stanford, Danielle Kang)

5 – Thailand (Moriya Jutanugarn, Ariya Jutanugarn* (3), Thidapa Suwannapura)

2 – Canada (Brooke Henderson (2))

1 – Sweden (Pernilla Lindberg*)

1 – New Zealand (Lydia Ko)

1 – Australia (Minjee Lee)

1 – Japan (Nasa Hataoka)

1 – England (Georgia Hall*)

*Major Championship winner

 

2018 WINS BY PLAYER (28 tournaments, 23 players)

3: Ariya Jutanugarn (Kingsmill Championship presented by GEICO, U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the USGA,

Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open)

3: Sung Hyun Park (Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Indy Women in Tech Championship Driven by Group 1001)

2: Brooke Henderson (LOTTE Championship presented by Hershey, CP Women’s Open)

1: Brittany Lincicome (Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic)

1: Jin Young Ko (ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open)

1: Jessica Korda (Honda LPGA Thailand)

1: Michelle Wie (HSBC Women’s World Championship)

1: Inbee Park (Bank of Hope Founders Cup)

1: Eun-Hee Ji (Kia Classic)

1: Pernilla Lindberg (ANA Inspiration)

1: Moriya Jutanugarn (HUGEL-JTBC LA Open)

1: Lydia Ko (LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship)

1: Minjee Lee (LPGA Volvik Championship)

1: Annie Park (ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer)

1: So Yeon Ryu (Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give)

1: Nasa Hataoka (Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G)

1: Sei Young Kim (Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic)

1: Thidapa Suwannapura (Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I)

1: Georgia Hall (Ricoh Women’s British Open)

1: Marina Alex (Cambia Portland Classic)

1: Angela Stanford (The Evian Championship)

1: In Gee Chun (KEB Hana Bank Championship)

1: Danielle Kang (Buick LPGA Shanghai)

 

ROLEX FIRST-TIME WINNERS (8)

Jin Young Ko (ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open), Pernilla Lindberg (ANA Inspiration), Moriya Jutanugarn (HUGEL-JTBC LA Open), Annie Park (ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer), Nasa Hataoka (Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G), Thidapa Suwannapura (Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning and O-I), Georgia Hall (Ricoh Women’s British Open), Marina Alex (Cambia Portland Classic)

 

Average age of winners in 2018: 25.00

Youngest winner: Nasa Hataoka, 19 years, 5 months, 11 days

Oldest winner: Brittany Lincicome, 32 years, 4 months, 9 days

Winners of Multiple Tournaments: Ariya Jutanugarn (3), Sung Hyun Park (3), Brooke Henderson (2)

 

LEADERS TOP 10 COMPETITION (as of October 21)

15: Ariya Jutanugarn

12: Minjee Lee

11: Jin Young Ko

The LEADERS Top 10 competition awards a $100,000 bonus to the LPGA player with the most top-10 finishes through the completion of the Blue Bay LPGA (Nov. 7-10). In the event of a tie in total top-10 finishes, the award will go to the player with the most official wins, followed by most second-place finishes, third-place finishes, etc., until the tie is broken.

 

via LPGA