February 27 - LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan has indicated that he is not opposed to an LPGA major on Asian soil in the future, but judging from the player field and the scores at this year's HSBC Women's Champions, the future is here and now and unravelling at the Garden Course at Tanah Merah this week.
Singapore's premier course has shown its teeth. And if quality of the course, and the field is any indication, the HSBC Women's Champions is playing like a major any way you look at it.
Par is king - or queen as the case may be - and the secret to handling the Phil Jacobs' layout (Editor's note: TMCC President Tan Puay Huat was instrumental in the design process of the course that was rebuilt two years ago.) is undoubtedly managing the long par-4s - the 4th, 6th, 10th, 17th and 18th. And that's not to say that any of the other par 4s are any easier.
Players at this year's event has averaged over par on all these four holes almost every round since the tournament teed off on Thursday (the 279m 18th sneaked under at 3.95 during the third round). The difficult 6th, at 379m for the tournament, averaged a shocking 4.44 - and this is with the 54 if the top 55 women golfers in the world playing.
Hole 10, not particularly long at 349m, also proved another stumbling block to the scorecard. It averaged 4.32, 4.27 and 4.17 the first three rounds. Needless to say, that those who followed the players around this treacherous hole would have witnessed countless approach shots either trickling down the steep false front of the green, or imbed into the cavernous sand bunker in front. Getting up and down from there was a trick and a half, and par has been a good score here.
The golfers who have played well have been able to negotiate the pitfalls of these par 4s while taking advantage of the birdie holes, like the short 246m, par-4 16th. During the first round, both Park Hee Young and Christina Kim whipped out their big dogs and drove the green, leaving themselves with 20-foot eagle putts (neither made it). Players who did not birdie this hole would feel like they left a shot out there on the course.
Difficult par 4s weren't the only problems the players faced. The par-3 14th demanded a high tee off with a mid-iron that could hold the green. I watched several flights at this hole, conveniently located just a few steps from the media centre, only to see balls land pin-high in the middle of the green, and scoot off into the back. This is a good strong par 3, and serves to separate the girls from the ladies. Then we saw Angela Stanford hit her tee shot on the par-3 11th into the water, all but removing her from the top of the leader board.
Being able to strategise around the course is the key to victory here. Distance control, varying trajectory and spin are the answers to handling Garden's challenges. There are no quirks, no gimmickery, nothing left to chance on this demanding layout. The winner of this tournament would be the best golfer of the week.
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