TLPGA Players Championship to tee off in Taoyuan on Thursday

Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) The 2025 Foxconn TLPGA Players Championship is set to begin in Taoyuan on Thursday, featuring 12 of the world's top 100 female golfers.

The Ladies Professional Golf Association of Taiwan (TLPGA) tournament will take place at Orient Golf & Country Club from Thursday to Sunday, with a total prize purse of US$1.5 million -- the highest ever for a golf tour event held in Taiwan.

This year's tournament will feature 40 golfers ranked among the world's top 200, including two former world No. 1 players: Yani Tseng (曾雅妮) of Taiwan and Shin Jiyai of South Korea.

Holding the top ranking for 109 consecutive weeks from 2011 to 2013, Tseng was the youngest player to complete a Grand Slam. Meanwhile, Shin Jiyai, now ranked No. 28 in the world, will be competing in Taiwan for the first time in a decade.

Speaking to CNA on Monday, Tseng said she and Shin played a nine-hole practice round together that morning to prepare for this year's tournament, and have known each other for 20 years.

Now 36, Tseng noted that many of the younger players in the upcoming Taiwan tour are unfamiliar to her.

"I see in them the same desire and passion for golf that I had when I was young," she said. "I think they can help me rediscover the joy I felt when I first started playing."