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February 27, 2024. SINGAPORE

Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea poses with the winner's trophy after winning the HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club on May 02, 2021 in Singapore. Photo Credit: Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images


After a thrilling finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand that saw Patty Tavatanakit win for the first time on Tour since 2021 in her home country, the LPGA Tour heads to Singapore for the 16th playing of the HSBC Women’s World Championship. The event, which is often referred to as “Asia’s Major,” will see a 66-player field compete for a share of a $1.8 million purse and features two-time defending champion Jin Young Ko, Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions winner Lydia Ko and Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Lilia Vu.


Take a look at who else is in the field this week at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.


Past Champions (3):

Jin Young Ko (2023, 2022), Hyo Joo Kim (2021), Jiyai Shin (2009)


2024 LPGA Tour Winners (2 of 3):

Lydia Ko (Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions), Patty Tavatanakit (Honda LPGA Thailand)


2024 LPGA Tour Rookies (1 of 26):

Mone Inami


Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings Top 10 (8 of 10):

Lilia Vu (No. 1), Celine Boutier (No. 3), Ruoning Yin (No. 4), Minjee Lee (No. 5), Jin Young Ko (No. 6), Lydia Ko (No. 7), Hyo Joo Kim (No. 9), Xiyu Lin (No. 10)


HSBC Women’s World Championship Debuts:

Aditi Ashok, Celine Borge, Xingtong Chen (a), Peiyun Chien, Lauren Coughlin, Mone Inami, Grace Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou, Yuna Nishimura, Bianca Pagdanganan, Alexa Pano, Haeran Ryu, Linnea Strom, Albane Valenzuela, Miranda Wang, Chanettee Wannasaen, Ruoning Yin


Sponsor Exemptions

Xingtong Chen (a), In Gee Chun, Muni He, Emily Kristine Pedersen, Miranda Wang



Written By: Sarah Kellam@sarahkellam

Sarah Kellam is a Kentucky native and played collegiate golf at Northern Kentucky University. She currently serves as a Manager of Digital Content and prior to the LPGA, Sarah worked as a freelance content creator.




January 29, 2024. HA LONG BAY, Vietnam.



Leg 5 of the Clipper 2023-24 Race got underway at midnight UTC on 28 January by way of a Le Mans Start to kick off Race 7. A Le Mans Start differs from a traditional Line Start and allows the Race Office to start races remotely. In this case, the fleet had to transit the dangerous Great Barrier Reef under engine before starting the race in safe water.


The Le Mans Start is a visually striking spectacle where all eleven yachts are lined up under engines with mainsails raised, and headsails poised. As the official Race Start is declared, the fleet progressively advances with each team raising headsails in a rolling start, creating an impressive demonstration of coordinated sailing expertise as well as an action-packed beginning to the race.


The essence of the Le Mans Start lies in fairness. Measures are in place to address any attempts to gain an unfair advantage promptly, and all Race Skippers play a crucial role in ensuring a smooth procedure, addressing any breaches that may occur.


What’s more, Clipper Race crew undergo intensive training in the lead up to the race, including practicing the Le Mans Start, during their Level 4 training.


On Race 7, it was Ryan Gibson, Skipper of Dare To Lead who led this Race Start. He said: “We just started our first Le Mans Start of the circumnavigation, outside the Great Barrier Reef in a nice steady 15 knots of NNW breeze. Being the Lead Skipper, it was a little stressful making sure everything goes well, but it seemed to go very well so well done everyone and see you all in Vietnam!”


Image: Le Mans Start for Race 7


The Le Mans Start Sequence:

The Le Mans Start adheres to a meticulous sequence to guarantee a fair and captivating start to the race:


Countdown: The standard Clipper Race start countdown of ten minutes, four minutes, one minute, and the start gun initiates the process.

Preparation: Prior to the ten-minute signal, all yachts hoist their mainsails, with the size of mainsail previously agreed, hank on headsails, and attach halyards and sheets without hoisting.

Engine-powered Line up: Yachts motor slowly, maintaining two to three boat lengths apart in a line abreast on a pre-arranged course heading towards the first waypoint. The speed is set by the Lead Skipper.


Signal and Silence: At the four-minute signal, all Race Crew relocate aft of the forward grinder. At the one-minute signal, engines are turned off, and mainsails are trimmed to maintain fleet alignment.


Race Start: At the start signal teams can move swiftly forward to hoist and trim headsails.

Maintaining Course: All yachts must adhere to the agreed course and separation and sail plan for the initial ten minutes after the start gun.

Communication: The Lead Skipper vocally communicates the start sequence on a predetermined VHF channel and contacts the Clipper Race Office within 30 minutes to confirm a successful Le Mans start.



In the heat of Race Start, the tactical brilliance of the teams came to the forefront, with strategic manoeuvres and clever plays defining the early stages of the competition. Perseverance, in a move that showcased precision and cunning, strategically concealed a hanked on Yankee 1 beneath its just-raised Yankee 2. The execution was seamless, reflecting the team's meticulous planning by completing the Yankee 1 change immediately after the stipulated ten minutes. The team also chose to follow the Rhumb Line as they surged ahead of the fleet.


The line-up in which the boats are staggered for the Le Mans Start is selected by randomly pulling the positions from a hat. This excludes the Lead Skipper, in this case, Ryan Gibson and Dare To Lead who sit in the middle of the line up. Ineke Van der Weijden, Skipper of Perseverance said, “We were lucky enough to draw most windward boat in the boat order, so a great place to be for an upwind start in the direction of PNG. The start went well. Everybody was super excited and did great, giving us a good start. After 10 minutes you are allowed to change headsails and we were the first boat to do so, from Yankee 2 to Yankee 1.”


Tom Newsom, AQP on Our Isles and Oceans: “For this start tactically the windward end was favoured, as boats positioned more centrally could be wind shadowed by those above them. We were third to windward which is a good spot, despite having the well-oiled machine of Perseverance and the fast yet variable Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam above us. The ten-minute, four minutes (crew being the coffee grinders), one minute (engine off) start sequence went off without a hitch. We hoisted the staysail and Yankee in good time but had not trimmed on before Perseverance.


Zhuhai skipper James Finney added “It’s great just to get going now and feel like we are beginning to make some progress in the right direction towards Vietnam! The first Le Mans Start of the race was a lot of fun and the crew did fantastically at it with a rapid sail hoist and set, working us out of a tricky spot down at the leeward (less windy) end of the starting order.”


Image: AQP on Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, Cameron McCracken


Meanwhile, Ha Long Bay, Viet Nam, Zhuhai, and Yacht Club Punta del Este sailed high to free off later, requiring them to navigate through close quarters with Our Isles and Oceans.

With that steady 15 knot breeze on their port beams, the teams will continue making their way northeast towards Papua New Guinea and the Doldrums Corridor, just approximately 150 miles away now.


The narrow Doldrums Corridor is unique to the Clipper Race and is put in place to assist the fleet in navigating the frustratingly light air band that sits south of the equator here. The teams have the option to use their motor for 4 degrees of latitude within a set time period, to help them should the breeze shut off, and the timing of when and whether to motor is the first big tactical decision of this race to Ha Long Bay.


With around three weeks and 4000 nautical miles of racing to go, there’s still plenty of exciting and tactical sailing to come, as well as the much-anticipated visit from King Neptune, when any Pollywogs onboard earn their shellbacks when crossing the equator for the first time.


Follow the fleet on the Race Viewer as it makes way for Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.


How can we accelerate innovation in a sport at the forefront of technology? How we're propelling motorsports forwards with the Aston Martin Formula One Team. Aramco and the Aston Martin Formula One™ Team join forces in Formula 1®.

Aramco - Global Partner of Formula 1®


The 2022 Formula 1® season launches a dynamic new collaboration in motor-sports as Aramco becomes a strategic partner of Aston Martin Racing (AMR).


As global sponsors of Formula 1®, the sporting league adored by more than 1.56 billion people worldwide, we’ve been able to showcase our drive to push boundaries in fuel performance, and our commitment to produce better, cleaner and future-focused transport technology.

Solutions geared not just towards sporting success but capable of tackling global environmental challenges.


Now we are taking the next leap forward, integrating our resources and research with that of the innovative and ambitious Aston Martin Formula One™ Racing Team to take our technologies from the testing lab, out on to the track.


Our coordinated R&D efforts will aim to reduce engine emissions and pollutants


The aim – to produce cars powered entirely by sustainable fuels by 2025 and achieve net zero as a sport by 2030.


Aramco is constantly developing technologies in advanced motor and vehicle technology and we are combining our skill and experience with the talented people at AMR to create cutting-edge advancements to meet this technological challenge.


Our coordinated R&D efforts on fuel-engine technology and non-metallic materials performance, will aim to improve engine performance and reduce emissions - contributing to a lower carbon footprint in the sport, whilst enhancing safety and efficiency.


“The partnership reflects Aramco’s efforts to reduce emissions in the global automotive and transport industries. Our ambition is to supply premium fuels and lubricants to the global automotive sector, and our tie-up with the Aston Martin team will help drive awareness of our high-quality products. It is an alliance that harnesses our shared commitment to engineering excellence and innovation, and has the potential to deliver winning results both on and off the track.” - Mohammed Al Qahtani, Senior Vice President Downstream at Aramco


This long-term strategic partnership merges advanced research and development programs in next-generation transport technologies, launches a commercial partnership focused on fuels and lubricants, and forms the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula 1™ Team.

Our engineers and chemists will focus on the production of ultra-efficient hybrid internal combustion engines and advanced fuels, including low carbon synthetic or E-Fuels, for deployment in motorsport.


Development of this new engine will be a first for AMR. And this multi-year deal reflects our commitment to the vision, determination and capabilities of the Aston Martin Racing leadership to drive continued progress, success and results in Formula 1®.


“We are very excited to collaborate with such a renowned name in the automotive industry to advance motorsports technology. With our combined expertise we have the potential to improve engine performance and reduce emissions, helping lower the carbon footprint of the sport and, eventually, the automotive industry.”- Ahmad Al Khowaiter, Chief Technology Officer at Aramco


The partnership extends well beyond racing, with an ongoing commitment to advance sustainable transport technologies and drive innovation in the global automotive and transport industries.


So, two pioneering brands, an ambitious young racing team and engineers pushing the boundaries of technical possibility.


How do you accelerate innovation in a sport at the forefront of technology?

Precision, power, performance - we’ve partnered with the Aston Martin Formula One Team, on a series of videos exploring how they develop the innovations engineered to propel modern motorsport into a brand-new gear.


How can we build lighter in order to go faster?

Building a fast car can come down to the smallest of margins. In this episode we take a look at how every gram of weight on a car can impact performance, and the technologies being used to maximize weight efficiency.


How can we use aerodynamics to go faster?

Aerodynamics have a huge impact on straight-line speed and cornering – fundamental to motorsport performance. In this episode we take a look at the data modeling, wind tunnel testing and track performance data which are analyzed to identify improvements.






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