Venues are often described as a “ball-striker’s course,” and, in the case of Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course, the stats back up the phrase.
At last year’s HSBC Women’s World Championship, top-10 finishers gained the majority of their advantage off full swings, according to the KPMG Performance Insights data. In fact, the 73.9 percent advantage in strokes gained ball-striking among top finishers ranked second on tour in 2023 behind the CME Group Tour Championship (75.4).
It’s no wonder then that Jin Young Ko is a two-time winner of this event, aiming for her third straight HSBC victory. Over last two editions of the HSBC, South Korea’s Ko hit 86 percent of greens in regulation at Sentosa. In 2023, from 125 to 150 yards, Ko was 6 feet better than the tour average at 22 feet.
Since 2000, only five players have won tournaments three or more times in a row. Inbee Park was the last to do it at the KPMG Women’s PGA from 2013 to 2015.
HSBC: LPGA players pose at famed Marina Bay Sands in Singapore
Past winners of the HSBC reads like a who’s who list. Of the 13 winners in Singapore, all but two (Ai Miyazato and Ha Na Jang) are major champions. Seven of the 13 are former World No. 1s, and three are LPGA Hall of Famers (Inbee Park, Lorena Ochoa and Karrie Webb).
World No. 1 Lilia Vu tied for 14th last year in her HSBC debut.
“You’ve got to be really strict and disciplined off the tee,” said Vu in Wednesday’s pre-tournament presser. “I think it’s not very easy, and then today was a little windy, too, when we played.
“So that kind of brought in another factor. Greens are fast and not as receptive, so definitely on the more difficult side, which I enjoy.”
Lilia Vu plays her shot from the ninth tee during a pro-am ahead of the 2024 HSBC Women’s World Championship at Sentosa Golf Clubin Singapore. (Photo: Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
A four-time winner last season, Vu finished the year ranked second in putts per green in regulation and ninth in greens in regulation. The former UCLA star learned the game from her father, Douglas, and hired her first “everything coach” in Brett Lederer in the spring of 2022. When talking about her swing, Vu is quick to point out that she’s not a technical person.
“I hit down on my driver when I first saw him,” Vu told Golfweek earlier this season. “That’s all I’d ever done in college. I was able to get a lot more height and trajectory. Now people think I spin the ball so much, and I’m like no, you should’ve seen it a couple years ago.”
After a slow start to the season in 2024, Vu saw significant improvement with the putter last week in Thailand, gaining well over a stroke and a half per round on the greens.
When it comes to strokes gained approach, it’s hard to top another two-time major winner, Minjee Lee, who makes her 2024 debut this week in Singapore.
Lee led the tour in Strokes Gained: Approach last season. Dating to the 2022 HSBC, she has led the field in strokes gained approach at nine LPGA events, five more than any other player.