Queen Sirikit Cup scheduled for Singapore in August

Caption: The Queen Sirikit Cup, or the Amateur Ladies' Asia-Pacific Invitational Team Championship, has been scheduled for Singapore in August.

The 42nd edition of the Queen Sirikit Cup will return to the golfing calendar in Singapore in August.

Last year’s Queen Sirikit Cup was originally scheduled to be played in Indonesia in March before being reset for June-July. However, given travel restrictions and compulsory quarantine orders, organisers reluctantly postponed the event – the first time since the tournament’s inauguration that it had missed a year.

Organised by the Singapore Ladies' Golf Association (SLGA), the Asia-Pacific’s premier amateur team championship for women will be hosted at the award-winning 36-hole Laguna National Golf & Country Club in Singapore from August 23-27.

Also known as the Amateur Ladies' Asia-Pacific Invitational Golf Team Championship, the 15-nation event has proved to be a stepping stone to global fairway fame and fortune for dozens of females from the region.

Rae-Vadee T Suwan, secretary-general of the Queen Sirikit Cup and a driving force behind the launching of the event in 1979, said: “After the disruptions caused by the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, we’re very much looking forward to having the Queen Sirikit Cup take place in 2021.

“Our grateful thanks go to Laguna National and the Singapore Ladie's Golf Association for their support and enthusiasm – and for making sure the Queen Sirikit Cup will return this year in a safe environment.”

Caption: The Laguna National golf course, the venue for the Queen Sirikit Cup in Singapore in August.

Taimur Hassan Amin, chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), said: “Events such as the Queen Sirikit Cup and the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific are integral to popularising the sport among women as well as providing a platform for our girls to cut their teeth in serious competition at world class venues, preparing some of them for a career as golfing professionals and ambassadors for their country and the region as a whole.

“On behalf of the APGC, I would like to thank the Singapore Ladies' Golf Association (SLGA) for its efforts in hosting the Queen Sirikit Cup for the third time. I’m certain it will prove to be a great occasion and an opportunity for the contestants to renew old acquaintances and make new friends.”

Lyn Yeo, president of the SLGA, said: “The SLGA is delighted to be able to bring this fabulous championship back to Singapore in 2021 and to be the first country to host the Queen Sirikit Cup in its new 72-hole format. We are very excited for the players and I’m certain everyone is looking forward to competing in this prestigious tournament in August.

“I must especially thank Laguna National for agreeing to host the tournament at short notice in such a challenging year.”

Mark Isley, general manager at Laguna National, said: “The Queen Sirikit Cup has a long and proud history. All of us at Laguna National are looking forward to being involved in the next, exciting chapter.”

Inaugurated in 1993, Laguna National boasts two 18-hole courses that are admired for their uniquely distinctive characteristics and impeccable conditioning. Both courses have won prestigious accolades and staged multiple professional championships on the European Tour, Asian Tour and Korean LPGA Tour.

Traditionally, the Queen Sirikit Cup has comprised of three-player teams competing over 54 holes of individual strokeplay with the two best daily scores from each team counting towards the overall totals. This year the tournament is being extended to 72 holes over four rounds, a reflection of improving standards and the elite status of the Queen Sirikit Cup.

Over the past five decades, the Queen Sirikit Cup has been graced by many of the best known names in women’s golf, including New Zealander Lydia Ko, Australians Karrie Webb and Minjee Lee, China’s Feng Shanshan, Chinese Taipei’s Tseng Ya-ni, Japan’s Ai Miyazato and Koreans Pak Se-ri and Shin Ji-yae.