Event History.
2012
For the fifth consecutive year a stellar field consisting of the game's best international players contested the HSBC
Women's Champions. The magnificent Tanah Merah Country Club once again provided an outstanding
setting for the elite of women's golf to showcase their talents over a course which has received two more awards
since the 2011 HSBC Women's Champions - the Best Course in Singapore and the Best Maintained Course in
Asia-Pacific - at the Asian Golf Monthly Annual Awards.
Competing for the $1.4 million prize fund were 18 of the Rolex top 20 and 49 of the top 50 from the final 2011 LPGA
money list - a roster of players which also included the world's number one Yani Tseng and defending champion
Karrie Webb. 16 nations were represented by a field which had won over 450 international titles and 36 major trophies.
3 of these 16 nations were represented in the four-way play-off which was required after 72 holes of thrilling golf
were unable to crown a winner. Angela Stanford of the USA, Shanshan Feng of China and Jenny Shin and Na Yeon
Choi of South Korea took to the course shortly after a dramatic electrical storm had momentarily halted the
closing stages of regulation play. The play-off provided an additional layer of tension in the air through which
American Angela Stanford eventually reigned supreme. The play-off took three trips up the final hole to deliver
the winner which saw Feng fall at the first hurdle, Choi fall at the second and Shin edged out at the third attempt to
give the first American victor of the HSBC Women's Champions.
Angela Stanford follows in the footsteps of Lorena Ochoa, Jiyai Shin, Ai Miyazato and Karrie Webb who have all
lifted the HSBC Women's trophy since 2008. With all these champions having previously held the world number one
spot, Stanford breaks the mould in becoming the first champion of 'Asia's Major' never to have held the top spot.
The win did however add a fifth LPGA title to the American's trophy cabinet and push her up to 14th in the Rolex
Rankings.
2011
Karrie Webb demonstrated precisely the right mix of patience and pluck as she won the HSBC Women's Champions
at Tanah Merah by a shot from Chie Arimura, the game little Japanese player who had led for so much of the
tournament. On what was a thriller of a final day's play, Webb, who had been three behind leaving the 10th green,
came home in 33 to add a 69 to earlier scores of 70, 66 and 70 and finish on a total of 275.
It may have been Webb's 51st title overall but she could not have looked more elated had it been her first which, for
the record, was the 1995 British Women's Open Championship at Woburn.
"It feels great," she said. "It was a bit of an up-and-down day so I feel very happy to be slinking away with a one shot
win.
After nine holes of today's final round, it had looked for all the world as if the in-form Yani Tseng was going to win for
what would have been a fifth week in a row.
Having started the day six shots off the lead, the Taiwanese player had five birdies on the front nine to be out in a
five-under 31. At that stage she was ten under par and only one shot to the bad.
Record crowds surged down the 10th to see how she would capitalise on that arresting start but, to their surprise,
they did not have to wait long for the first glitch. After Arimura, armed with her hybrid, had hit through the wind to a
couple of inches to the elevated 10th green, Tseng failed to carry the guardian bunker and, like Webb, wound up
with a bogey.
Tseng couldn't go on to produce the fireworks necessary on the back nine though and even a low score of the day 67
wasn't good enough to put Webb off her stride. Tseng finished on a total of 278, in third place alone and still in search
of her first HSBC Women's Champions title.
2010
Ai Miyazato emerged triumphant from a thriller of a last day at the 2010 HSBC Women's Champions to complete the
rare feat of winning the LPGA's two opening events. The last player to do as much was America's Marilyn Smith in
1966.
Miyazato, though she did not know it, had a two-shot lead over Cristie Kerr coming down Tanah Merah's 414 yards
18th. She bisected the fairway with a stunning drive - and followed it up with a second to nine feet which left the
spectators positively open-mouthed. The title was as good as hers.
Having tapped in for a four, this hugely popular competitor hugged her caddie and, as the applause was giving way
to a rousing Lion dance, so she signed for her closing 69 and ten-under-par tally of 278. Kerr finished on 280 with
Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, Yani Tseng and Song-Hee Kim sharing third place on 281.
2009
JIYAI SHIN, the 20-year-old Korean won the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore shooting her second
successive six-under-par 66 to underline her reputation as a fearsome last-round performer.
Shin came from six shots behind at the start of the final day to clinch her fourth official LPGA title and her first since
officially becoming a member of the tour with a winning score of 11 under par 277 at the Tanah Merah Country Club.
She nudged out overnight leader Katherine Hull by two strokes.
“I thought I had a chance of finishing in the top 10, not to win. I was very surprised to start with four birdies,” said Shin,
who only last month lost her treasured record of never having missed a cut as a professional, but now stands
alongside the names of recent HSBC Champions winners Phil Mickelson, Lorena Ochoa and Sergio Garcia.
The girl known in her homeland as the “Final Round Queen” because of her resilience in Sunday play left her veteran
Australian caddie Deane Hearden shaking his head in disbelief at the way she played over the weekend.
2008
The HSBC Women's Champions 2008, at Tanah Merah Country Club, Singapore , was created following the
success of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. With the criteria mirroring the men’s event to ensure a field of
Champions.
World No 1, Lorena Ochoa carded her fourth consecutive below-70 round to claim an indomitable career-best
11-stroke victory on a rain-interrupted final day of the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore.
Despite three breaks in play due to tropical showers, the world no.1, who had led from day one, hit a flawless
four-birdie round of 68 to scoop the Champion of Champions title and US$300,000 first prize at the inaugural
event at Tanah Merah Country Club.
Swedish legend Annika Sorenstam finished second on nine under, while American Paula Creamer was on
stroke behind in third. Ochoa, who dominated throughout in her first event of the year, said: "I feel very good.
I am a little tired but I'm very happy. It's been a great week."
The 26-year-old, who started the day eight strokes ahead, added: "I kept trying to be aggressive. It's not easy
as you never know what will happen. You can play your best and still not win. But this week, I played consistently.
I also had pressure on me, we had the rain, and I wanted to win by more than eight.
2007
HSBC WWMPC
Seon Hwa Lee goes 6-0 for HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship title.
Second-career victory guarantees a spot in ADT Championship
Two members of the 2006 rookie class outlasted the field of 64 at the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship,
but it was reigning Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Seon Hwa Lee (22nd seed) who completed the weekend
with a 6-0 record. Lee, of South Korea, posted a 2 and 1 victory over 12th-seed Ai Miyazato, of Japan.
“My putter was working really well this week, all week. I think in match play, putting is really important,” said Lee,
whose $500,000 paycheck comes with a spot in the 32-player field at the ADT Championship via the second half
of the LPGA Playoffs 2007. “I know that Ai is a really good player and that she has a lot of supporters in Japan. I
know she's a really good putter and she's going to be tough.”
Lee jumped out to an early lead when Miyazato bogeyed the first hole, but the pair was back to all square after the
second hole. Lee appeared to put the match away by winning the third and fourth holes to go 2 up, which is where
the match stayed until Miyazato won the 11th hole. Lee capitalized on a Miyazato bogey on the 12th hole to take the
match back to 2 up. Miyazato made a comeback using her 58-degree wedge to stick her approach on the 14th hole
to five feet and take the hole. On 15, though, her six-foot birdie putt skimmed the edge of the hole shortly after Lee
made birdie to make the final move to 2 up.
“It was a very important putt. But even if I were to make that putt, we would still be all square,” said Miyazato, whose
$300,000 check is the largest of her LPGA career and propels her to the top of the ADT Points standings with 366,
177 ADT Points. “I'm disappointed but I feel satisfied because it's my best finish on the LPGA Tour, and the
experience this week will lead to a better finish next time around.”
The duo matched birdies on holes 16 and 17, where the match ended and Lee emerged the victor 2 and 1. It was
her second-career LPGA victory after she won the 2006 ShopRite LPGA Classic during her rookie year. She has
recorded four top-10 finishes this season and is fifth on the LPGA Official Money List with $810,499 in season
earnings, just behind third-place finisher Mi Hyun Kim with $948,104.
In the consolation match, 10th-seed Kim—who lost her semi-final match 2 down to Lee—battled through a sore
back to hold off 40th-seed Maria Hjorth, of Sweden, 2 up.
“I woke up in the morning, sore in my back, I don't know what happened. After the morning, my shots were a little
bit funny. So I didn't play good in the morning,” said Kim, who won the SemGroup Championship Presented by
John Q. Hammons earlier this season. “I'm very happy to play for my place right now, third. I'm happy to get that
and actually a lot of good players played here this week, and to finish in the top-three is good.”
Two-time Tour winner, Hjorth had an impressive 4-0 start to her tournament leading into Sunday. In Thursday's
first-round match with 25th-seed Catriona Matthew, Hjorth advanced with a 23-hole victory and set a tournament
record for longest match. Over the course of four days and six matches, Hjorth played 109 holes, at one point on
Saturday having less than 30 minutes between her third-round and quarter-final matches. She defeated 33rd-seed
and Port Chester, N.Y., native Francella 4 and 3 to advance into the semi finals, but fell to Miyazato 3 and 2, before
the consolation match with Kim.
As the 10th-seed, Kim was the highest-seeded player in the tournament after Lindsey Wright (35th seed) defeated
third-seed Annika Sorenstam in the second round 3 and 2. The second round also saw the elimination of top-seed
Lorena Ochoa by 33rd-seed Meaghan Francella, 1 up; fifth-seed Se Ri Pak lose to 37th-seed Christina Kim 4 and 2;
and eighth-seed Paula Creamer lose to 40th-seed Maria Hjorth, 1 up.
Lee is the highest-ranked player in tournament history to win the event after Marisa Baena (60th seed) and Brittany
Lincicome (39th seed) each became Rolex First-Time Winners in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
2006
HSBC WWMPC
When 60th-seed Marisa Baena fought her way through the bracket to win the inaugural 2005 HSBC Women's
World Match Play Championship, she established a tournament tradition Brittany Lincicome was only too happy
to continue. In her second year on the LPGA Tour, 39th-seeded Lincicome became the dark horse champion of
the 2006 event by defeating eighth-ranked Juli Inkster in the championship match 3 and 2 in 16 holes. Lincicome
also became the season's fourth Rolex First-Time Winner and earned an impressive $500,000 paycheck.
“I'm still in shock,” said Lincicome, who got pushed out of the 2005 tournament when Birdie Kim won the U.S.
Women's Open conducted by the USGA. “I'll probably wake up tomorrow and it will sink in, I actually won the
tournament.”
Lincicome quietly worked her way through the bracket until she pulled one of the biggest upsets of the tournament
during Saturday's quarterfinals. Lincicome earned a 4 and 3 victory over second seed Michelle Wie to advance to
Sunday's semifinals.
“That was huge, also, because everybody I talked to was like, ‘Oh, you're not going to win.' I wasn't even thinking
about winning, I was trying to play my own game, play the golf course,” she said.
Lincicome started Sunday with a semifinal 19-hole victory over third-ranked Lorena Ochoa. Lincicome had a strong
start going 2 up after four holes, but Ochoa kept grinding and pulled the match to all square heading into the seventh.
The match would reach all square three more times and ended when Lincicome sank a 20-foot putt on the 19th hole
for the birdie and the match.
Less than an hour later, the championship match was underway and Lincicome was going head-to-head with one
of the Tour's best match-play competitors, Juli Inkster. Inkster, a six-time U.S. Solheim Cup Team veteran, started
the match 11-2-0 in LPGA Tour match-play competition. She defeated fifth-seeded Paula Creamer, a fellow 2005 U.S.
Solheim Cup Team member, in the morning semifinal match 5 and 4.
With her dad, Tom, on the bag as her caddy, Lincicome continued her strong play, taking advantage of wide fairways
with her 282-yard driving average, and sinking some long putts. By the time she and Inkster made the turn, 20-year-old
Lincicome was 4 up and moved to 5 up after 10 holes.
“It was good to get out to a good lead right away. I wasn't planning on 3 or 4 up, but I was hoping for 1 or 2 up right away
and I did it. That was a huge confidence booster and got things going,” Lincicome said.
Inkster took advantage of bogeys by Lincicome on holes 12 and 15, though, to head into 16 just 3 down. It was nearly
a déja vu from her quarterfinal match against top-seed Annika Sorenstam when Inkster came back with from being 3
down at one point to bringing the match all square with three consecutive birdies on holes 14 through 16. That's where
the match remained until a misread putt by Sorenstam on 18 resulted in Inkster winning the hole and the match, and
being the only player to ever lead in the tournament against Sorenstam (15-5-1 in Tour match play). A repeat performance,
though, was not in the cards for Inkster and Lincicome ended the match on the 16th hole at 3 and 2.
“I just didn't play very well,” Inkster, who is now 11-3-0 in Tour match-play events. “I just didn't make much. It was a 3 and
2 day, so I got what I deserved.”
In the consolation match, it was Ochoa and Creamer going head to head. Ochoa won the match on the 16th hole at 3
and 2.
“I had plenty of motivation. I didn't want to be beaten by Paula. We have a good rivalry,” said Ochoa, who still reigns over
the ADT Official Money List and leads the race for Rolex Player of the Year. “Of course, I'm still thinking I had a good
chance to get to the final to win it, but it's good to go out with a win and finish in third place.”
Playing six matches for both players was an improvement over their 2005 performances. Ochoa, now 5-2-0 in Tour
match play, lost as the third seed in the first round last year to 62nd-seed Laurie Rinker. Creamer (6-3-0) advanced to
the second round in 2005, but as the 4th-seed, was upset by Karrie Webb (29). Ironically, Creamer eliminated Webb—
this year's 4th-seed—in the quarterfinals 3 and 2.
“It's always hard to fight for third and fourth place,” said Creamer, who still netted a $150,000 paycheck on Sunday with
her fourth-place finish. “I was very disappointed in the morning match. Juli played so awesome. There was a lot of
motivation.”
Lincicome's win is an exclamation point on an already strong year. She now owns four top-10 finishes and jumped from
22nd to sixth on the ADT Official Money List. Because the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship is classified
as a Winner Event in the LPGA Playoffs 2006, Lincicome has secured a spot in the 32-player ADT Championship.
2005
HSBC WWMPC
The inaugural HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship was held in the picturesque setting of Hamilton
Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, New Jersey from 28 June to 3 July 2005.
Already a sponsor of the men’s HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, the event marked the
bank’s first foray into women’s professional golf and was the first match play event to feature on the LPGA tour in
50 years. With a prize fund of US$2 million and one of the biggest first prizes ever of US$500,000, all 64
qualifying golfers accepted an invitation to play.
Headlining the event were Annika Sorenstam, Laura Davies, Meg Mallon, Karrie Webb and US Open winner
Birdie Kim in a field that represented 15 countries and boasted a combined total of 304 LPGA victories, including
32 major championship titles between them - but it was the unheralded Colombian Marisa Baena who eventually
mastered the format and the course to claim the title.
The four day-long tournament did not fail to live up to expectation was full of drama from the opening tee shot.
The unpredictability of match play proved to be the only predictable result of the week with some of the LPGA’s
leading players failing to reach the second round.
The 28-year-old and 60 th seed at the inaugural HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship pulled off six
upsets in four days to become the fifth Rolex First-Time Winner on Tour this year.
Baena beat rookie Meena Lee 1 up in a thrilling 18-hole championship match that saw the score switch on 13
of the 18 holes to earn a $500,000 first-place check, the largest ever in an LPGA Tour event.
“I love match play and I have been waiting for this moment since I turned professional,” said Baena, who has
non-exempt status on the LPGA Tour and Monday qualified for three events at the beginning of the year. “I have
finally gotten my confidence back. I believe in my swing now, I believe in myself.”
Baena got into the final match with wins over Natalie Gulbis (fifth seed), Grace Park (37th seed and a major
champion), Jennifer Rosales (21st seed and a two-time LPGA champion), Karrie Webb (29th seed and an LPGA
Tour and World Golf Halls of Fame member) and a semi-final victory over Candie Kung (eighth seed and three-time
LPGA Tour winner).
She went 1 up on Lee after the first hole and never trailed throughout the match. From holes eight to 16, her lead
bounced between 1 up and 3 up, which is where it stood with four holes to play.
But Lee was resilient as she battled back with birdies on 15 and 16 to cut Baena's lead to 1 up. Lee then made a
fantastic up and down on 17 from the back rough, draining an eight-foot putt to send the match to the final hole.
Still, despite the Lee's valiant effort and match-saving putts, Baena never flinched.
“You always have to expect your opponent to make birdie,” said Baena, who moved from 63 rd to seventh on the
ADT Official Money List. “I was really expecting her to come back and make some birdies coming through the stretch,
but I knew if I was able to par some of the holes coming in, I should be ok because those holes are very tough and
I knew she was not going to birdie four in a row.”
Baena's thought process was as dead-on as her game, as they both made par on holes 17 and 18 to end the match.
“I thought I had nothing to lose, so I tried to play aggressive on every hole,” said Lee, who made $300,000 this week
and was also runner-up at the LPGA Corning Classic in May. “I was hoping that if do that, eventually I might be able
to turn the tide of the match.”
In the consolation match, Wendy Ward, who lost to Lee 1 up in the semifinals Sunday morning beat Kung, who
knocked out top-seed Annika Sorenstam in the quarterfinals on Saturday, 2 and 1.
“We all come in trying to win,” said Ward, who won the LPGA Takefuji Classic earlier this year in Las Vegas and is
ninth on the ADT Official Money List. “It's a new game when all of a sudden you have another match after the morning
and it's an important match because there is a pretty big difference between third and fourth. Just getting yourself
motivated again is challenging.”
Ward earned $200,000 for third place, while Kung took home $150,000.
Please click here for the full results
The HSBC Women’s Champions 2010 will be played at the prestigious Tanah Merah Country Club, Garden
Course in Singapore. Sculptured from a barren piece of reclaimed land, Tanah Merah Country Club is the result
of the concerted effort of a group of Singaporeans dedicated to the creation of one of the finest golf clubs in the
region. Artificial lakes were excavated and mounds were created for both visual interest and an element of
challenge for the golfers.
Tanah Merah Country Club, Garden Course has been one of the premier courses in Singapore and the region.
The original layout designed by Thomson, Wolveridge, Fream and Associates in 1984 has been redesigned by
Phil Jacobs in 2004. The 6,383 metres (6,980 yards) original layout has been stretched by a massive 327 metres
(358 yards) to 6,710 metres (7,338 yards).
The new 2006 layout is a major change from its predecessor but still retains the “GARDEN” touch with mature
trees, multi-hued shrubs and a huge variety of tropical foliage and lakes. All levels of golfers – the beginner, the
24-handicapper, the single handicapper and the professional – will enjoy the challenge provided by the changes
and the new holes, the undulations, the variations in contours, the water and the trees.
