The sixth edition of the SGF67 World Ladies Championship with SBS (WLC) will return to Mission Hills Haikou on Hainan Island in China next week, from 17 to 19 March, and will once again be played on the highly-acclaimed Blackstone course.
With Korea’s Jung-Min Lee confirmed to defend her title, which she won by a stroke last year at Mission Hills Resort Dongguan, the Ladies European Tour (LET), China LPGA Tour (ALPG) and Korean Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) tri-sanctioned event will feature a field of 126 players with a cut to the top 60 and ties after round two.
Other leading international players who have confirmed their participation in the three-day, 54-hole stroke play event, include the European Solheim Cup prospects Florentyna Parker and Georgia Hall from England, Isabelle Boineau and Gwladys Nocera from France, Anne Van Dam from the Netherlands, Nuria Iturrios from Spain and Danish trio Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Emily Kristine Pedersen and Nicole Broch Larsen. The European contingent is joined by Supamas Sangchan from Thailand, Rebecca Artis from Australia and Jin Young Ko of South Korea, who partnered Lee to win the concurrent team event played last year at Mission Hills Dongguan.
The WLC was previously played at Mission Hills Haikou for four years before the fifth edition of the championship switched venue in 2016. As well as Lee, the list of previous champions includes So Yeon Ryu from Korea (2015), Inbee Park from Korea (2014), Suzann Pettersen from Norway (2013) and Shanshan Feng from China (2012) and there has been a different individual winner each year.
Described as the “crown jewel” at the Mission Hills Resort Haikou, the par-73 Blackstone course is the premier 18-hole layout at a 10-course luxury golf complex. It was voted best championship course in Asia and hosted ‘The Match at Mission Hills’ between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in 2013, as well as the biennial World Celebrity Pro-Am.
Visitors considering a trip to tropical Hainan Island will not only be able to witness the first-class golfing spectacle on offer at the resort’s top course, but will also have the opportunity to indulge in some rest and relaxation in what is officially accredited the “World’s Largest Spa Resort” by Guinness World Records. What’s more, the hugely popular Mission Hills Huayi Brothers Feng Xiaogang Movie Town opened in 2014 along with a Duty Free Centre, offering a wide array of entertainment experiences for everyone to enjoy within the resort.
