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Ochoa Confirms She Will Defend in HSBC Women's Champions

The world's top-rated female player, Lorena Ochoa, has confirmed she will defend her HSBC Women's Champions title. The 2009 event will be held March 5-8 at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore. The Mexico native won the inaugural event after fending off an international field that included 18 of the world's top-20 players from over 20 countries.

Ochoa finished the week at 20-under par and an amazing 11 shots ahead of the field. Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer, winners in the preceding LPGA tournaments, finished second and third, respectively.

Ochoa, who has won seven titles in 2008 and 24 overall in her career, said of her participation: "It was very special for me to win the HSBC Champions at the start of this year - I worked really hard on my game over the winter so it was amazing and very satisfying to play so well and win in my first event of the season.

"There were so many great players in the field and the HSBC Women's Champions tournament is undeniably one of the top events on our tour. The strength of the field, and the condition of the course, as well as the way we are looked after during the week made it very enjoyable. It was also very exciting to get to look around Singapore so I am really looking forward to returning in March."

After winning the inaugural HSBC Women's Champions in such a commanding style, Ochoa went on to victories in another five tournaments, including a major, by the middle of May of this year. Her impressive streak stalled in the early part of the summer in part due to family bereavements in the space of two weeks. Yet Ochoa still had six top-10 finishes in the seven events she played. After a recent visit to Mexico to work on her short game, Ochoa returned to the winner's circle in September at the Navistar LPGA Classic.

"Lorena has shown what a great champion she is this year; not just in what she has won, but in how she has responded to adversity. We're proud to have her returning to defend her HSBC Women's Champions title, but we're equally proud that our champion has shown such admirable human qualities," said Giles Morgan, HSBC Group head of sponsorship.

Robbie Henchman, director of golf at IMG, the event promoter, added: "Nothing says world-class golf more than the words 'defending champion Lorena Ochoa.' The way she won at the Tanah Merah Country Club last year, beating a [field] full of in-form players who had already won or finished runner-up in 2008 was stunning. Early indicators are that the field will be even stronger in 2009 as the word has spread amongst the players as to how much they enjoyed the first HSBC Women's Champions. We are looking forward to an even more successful event in 2009."

The qualification criteria are similar to that of the men's HSBC Champions, with winners from around the world receiving invitations. Winners on the LPGA Tour along with leading money winners from the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA), Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, Ladies European Tour (LET), Australian Ladies Professional Golf (ALPG), Duramed Futures Tour, Ladies Asian Golf Tour (LAGT), and the top player from the continent of Africa qualify, making this the most international field ever assembled in Asia.

The $2 million HSBC Women's Champions, with $300,000 to the winner, will boast the largest purse for a women's golf event in Asia. The 78-golfer HSBC Women's Champions, sanctioned by the LPGA, will be played over 72 holes of stroke play.

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