15 JANUARY 2026, SINGAPORE – 17-year-old Chen Xingtong qualified for her third consecutive HSBC Women’s World Championship after carding an impressive five-under-par 67 in the final round of the national qualifiers today, finishing with a two-day total of five-under-par 139.
Chen recorded six birdies and one bogey to earn her place in the world-class 72-player field at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course from 26 February to 1 March 2026.
Reflecting on her round, Chen said: “It was really good because in the warm-up, I wasn’t too confident of doing well. But I was able to get my head in the game and put together a good round today.”
The performance marked a significant turnaround from last year’s national qualifiers, where Chen closed with a seven-over-par 79 and narrowly edged local professional and national teammate Aloysa Atienza by one shot to qualify.
In a surprising twist, Atienza was on the bag for Chen across both days, with the pair chatting and bantering between holes. With the partnership clearly clicking, Chen has confirmed Atienza as her caddy for the championship week, as Atienza continues her recovery from injury over the next two months.
“She’s a really good friend of mine, so I’m really happy to have her on the bag for me. We’re actually really similar. We were basically on the same wavelength for the entire two days, so it’s really good. I like to have a good conversation with my caddy or the people I play with, so it was definitely good to have light-hearted banter out there. It definitely helped me stay calm and patient.”
With her place secured in the US$3 million tournament, the SEA Games team silver medallist hopes to improve on her previous performances.
“I hope to play to the level I know I’m capable of on this course, like today. Five-under, I think that’s my personal best on this course. In a tournament, this is definitely the best score I’ve played at Sentosa. So just hoping to be able to prove to myself that I can do it.”
The 17-year-old, a multiple winner of the HSBC-sponsored Singapore Golf Association Youth Golf Challenge, added, “For me personally, my scores have been getting better and better compared to the first time I qualified. I think there’s definitely been personal growth in how I play and how I approach the game. HSBC has definitely been an incremental part of the growth of my golfing game, so it’s been good having this opportunity.”
Partners of the 2026 HSBC Women’s World Championship confirmed to date are: Sentosa, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Marina Bay Sands, Lexus, Nunchi Marine, Rolex, Hilton Singapore, AON, Epson, Puma, COBRA Golf, Ecco, Singapore Airlines, Sony, Sunbird Brewing Company, Titleist, Bluewater, Yeo’s, H-Two-O, and Tanglin Gin.
For more information on the HSBC Women’s World Championship and to purchase tickets, please visit the tournament website at https://www.hsbcgolf.com/womens.
