GUANGZHOU, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The China LPGA Tour tees off the first of its two CTBC-sponsored tournaments of the year on Thursday in the Dick Davidson-designed Nine Dragon Lake Golf Club.
Now in its third year, the CTBC Ladies Classic features a field of 126 players competing for a purse of RMB 800,000 in the 27-hole golf club in the town of Huadong, located about one hour northeast of the Guangzhou city center.
Nine Dragon Lake Golf Club boasts a strong reputation for the tournaments it has staged. Most notable among them was the 16th Asian Games, when South Korea took all four gold medals on offer, in addition to the 2013 Royal Trophy where the Jose Maria Olazabal-captained Europe team pipped the Asia team by a point for the title.
Jennifer Lee, the CLPGA Tour managing director, welcomed the continuing participating of CTBC Bank, which is also sponsoring the season-ending CTBC Ladies Open in December.
"The development of the China Tour aims to help the players grow and create more and better opportunities," said Lee, who noted that the CLPGA Tour would stage at least 15 tournaments this year.
Among the notable players in the field this week is China's Shi Yuting who is looking to turn around her game after losing her playing card in Japan, and her compatriot Luo Ying who reeled off nine birdies in the final round in Zhuhai last weekend to get into a five-player play-off.
"As a native of Guangzhou, I really want to get my first pro win here," said the 24-year-old Luo. "There are lots of excellent players, the following three days must be very competitive. I will try my best."
Leading a strong Thai charge into Nine Dragons is Chonlada Chayanun. The native of Nakhon Ratchasima province got her maiden pro win last weekend in Zhuhai when she birdied the first extra hole of sudden death to quickly end the play-off.
"Winning last tournament gives me a little more confidence this week. I was very happy to win the last event, especially with the five-way playoff, because I worked really hard. All of my hard work really paid off," said Chonlada, a college standout at Iowa State.
"The goal this week is just to do my best. Hopefully I can finish top five. But all I really need to do is just to focus and stay on my game and try to do my best because the course is really tough."
Other top Thais in the field include Supamas Sangchan, the CLPGA Tour Order of Merit leader who won the Hitachi Ladies Classic in January, and Pavarisa Yoktuan, the current No. 3 on the Order.
