- The first tournament of the Ladies Asian Tour series is the Hana Financial Group Championship, commencing November 5 at Sky72, Incheon
- The series is slated to have at least six events across Asia in 2021, including the Singapore Women’s Open
KOREA – Media OutReach – 4 November 2020 – Hana Financial Group Championship 2020 will tee off this Thursday as the first tournament of the newly minted Ladies Asian Tour (LAT) series organized by Asian Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF). Firmly rooted in the sport of golf and having been title sponsors on the LPGA, KLPGA, KPGA & Asian Tour for close to two decades, the LAT series further underscores Hana Financial Group’s (Chairman Jung-Tai Kim (www.hanafn.com) and AGLF’s commitment to uniting Asian countries through the sport.
The LAT series came hot on the heels of the establishment of the AGLF as the four founders of AGLF – Mr Jung-Tai Kim of Hana Financial Group, Mr. Gwang-Soo Hur of Korea Golf Association (KGA), Mr. Sang-Yeol Kim of Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA), and Mr. Kenny Park of Simone – saw the opportunity to deepen its commitment to the sport by providing a platform for Asian women’s golf to make waves globally.
“The first tournament of the LAT series at the Hana Financial Group Championship 2020 marks a significant milestone for the AGLF,” says Mr Paul Park, Secretary General of AGLF. “We will continue to charge forward with our mission in enhancing international sports relations and promoting friendship between Asian countries through the spirit of sport.”
In addition to the first of the LAT series at Hana Financial Group Championship 2020, existing tournaments such as Korea Women’s Open, Taiwan Women’s Open, China Women’s Open, Vietnam Women’s Open, and the Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open will also be part of the series from 2021.
The AGLF plans to launch flagship tournaments in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines in the year ahead. Plans are also in the works for an independent ranking system in Asia and establishing the Asian Player of the Year Award.
About Ladies Asian Tour Series
Ladies Asian Tour is a new tour series organised by the AGLF in 2020. Hana Financial Group Championship will be the first official event of Ladies Asian Tour Series 2020/2021, and is expected to have at least 6 tournaments in 2021 across Asian countries, including the new Hana Financial Group Singapore Women’s Open 2021, a Singapore national event co-sanctioned by the Singapore Golf Association and KLPGA.
About Asia Golf Leaders Forum
Asia Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF) is a non-profit corporation, led by four founders Mr. Jung-Tai Kim of Hana Financial Group, Mr. Gwang-Soo Hur of Korea Golf Association (KGA), Mr. Sang-Yeol Kim of Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA), and Mr. Kenny Park of Simone. With a mutual understanding with the R&A and golf associations in Asia such as Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines, AGLF’s mission is to unite all the Asian golf associations and create synergies to boost Asian golf to a global arena.
Together with corporate partners, AGLF is working to establish and grow Asian’s own series of women’s golf by co-developing with existing tournaments or establish new tournaments in countries across Asia. R&A has put its support behind AGLF and LAT for this new milestone in Asian Golf.
About Hana Financial Group Championship
Hana Financial Group established the Hana Bank Championship in 2009 and has been successfully hosting the LPGA Tour’s “Hana Bank Championship” until 2018. The tournament changed its name to Hana Financial Group Championship in 2019 and this is the second year under the new name, now part of the Ladies Asian Tour.
Throughout the years, the Championship has been the birthplace of world-class players such as Mexican golf hero Lorena Ochoa, US-based Juli Inkster, Britain’s Laura Davies, and Taiwan’s Tseng Yani. It has also enabled Korean players like Jin Joo HONG, Na Yeon CHOI, Jin Young KO, Kyu Jung BAEK and In Gee CHUN to advance into the world stage of US LPGA.
About Hana Financial Group
Hana Financial Group has its roots in South Korea, founded in 1971 as Korea Investment & Finance Corporation, the country’s first finance company solely funded by private capital. Founded on principles of integrity and pioneering entrepreneurship, it has grown from two branches in Korea to over 840 branches in 24 countries across the globe — Korea’s largest overseas network — managing in excess of KRW 360 trillion in assets (as of December 2018).
The Group envisions realizing a premier financial service network, to be a market leader with greater synergy among its subsidiaries in banking, securities, credit cards, capital, and insurance. The Group has set its sights on being the world’s most trusted premier financial group driven by customer experience. This move has seen substantial investments in China, Indonesia – where it is ranked in the top 20 banks – and Vietnam – where it now owns 15% of BIDV, the country’s largest lender – as it also moves into the fintech space.
