DEFENDING CHAMPION TAMBURLINI REFLECTS ON FOND MEMORIES AT SUNRISE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

Last year, Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini lifted the Wistron Ladies Open trophy after securing a four-stroke victory at Sunrise Golf and Country Club. The win marked her third Ladies European Tour (LET) title, making it a stellar rookie year.

The Swiss returns to the 2025 edition this week and is planning to give it all in her title defence.

It’s really cool to be back here,” she said. “I have so many great memories from last year – it was my third LET win, and I had such a good run leading into this event. This was also where I clinched the Order of Merit, which made it extra special. I played some really good golf here last year, and I think I was in a good state. That’s what I want to lock into a bit more this week.”

The three-time LET winner added: “Defending is always a little bit stressful as you have higher expectations. I think I’m going to take the positives from last year, but at the same time stay in the moment. My goal is to just enjoy it.”

Lately, the 25-year-old has been dealing with a bit of a wrist injury so unfortunately hasn’t been able to practice as much as she’d like.

Maybe with this weather I can give it a bit of a rest,” she said. “Over the past few weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of mental work, and I think that’s going to be really important – especially since we might not get to hit many balls before the tournament starts. But it’s the same for everyone. Hopefully the course holds up okay with all this rain, and we’ll see how things play out.”

Tamburlini is back in Taiwan for the third time – her most recent visit coming in February earlier this year for the Foxconn TLPGA Players Championship. She is enjoying her time being back here.

Everyone here is just so friendly,” she said. “I unfortunately didn’t make the cut for the tournament in February, so I had a weekend off to explore Taipei and visited Taipei 101, which was really cool. I always have some really good food here too. We found a great sushi place last year – I know that’s not typical local food but it was good. They have a really nice menu onsite as well which is great.” 


On the current weather conditions, she added: “Hopefully the rain stops soon. Obviously the weather plays such a big part for us as it’s an outdoor sport. It can be easy to get a little bit frustrated because we’re all here to play. But the weather is what it is and we can’t affect it. It’s going to be really important this week to have a good attitude.”

(Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini during Tuesday’s welcome reception. Credit Tristan Jones/LET)

Tamburlini also reflected on how courses in Asia differ from those in Europe.

They’re very different. We’re very fortunate that we can travel to a lot of places in the world, and everywhere we go, the golf courses are slightly different. The grass is different, the culture, but I think that’s what makes it quite fun. It keeps it exciting, keeps it different every time, and I think that’s what why I love it so much.”

Tamburlini has recently teamed up with Rory Henderson on the bag, a partnership she’s keen to make long-term.

The goal is definitely to make it a more permanent set up,” she said. “I feel like it’s kind of common knowledge that I’ve struggled to find a caddie and I’ve always been doing a lot with local caddies, but I feel really positive about Rory. He’s committed for the long term, which I really appreciate – we both want to improve together, this year and next, with the goal of eventually moving over to the US.”

“It’s been great having a familiar face out there,” she added. “Results haven’t been amazing lately, but I feel like the partnership is working really well.”

Already qualified for LPGA Q School through the Rolex World Rankings, Tamburlini remains focused on finishing the LET season strong.

My aim is to stay inside the top 10 on the Order of Merit,” she said. “I haven’t won this year, and I’m only playing this week and the Aramco China Championship before heading to the US to prepare for Q School.”

Returning to Sunrise Golf and Country Club, she said: “It’s going to be a big challenge. I think it’s supposed to be really windy as well, and obviously the golf course is going to be wet, so it’s going to play a lot longer as well, which is going to be different.”

Tamburlini gets her title defence underway at 11:30am (local time) alongside Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Thailand’s Patcharajutar Kongkraphan.

Watch live and follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #2025WistronLadiesOpen.