Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic Presented by CTBC to Welcome World’s Best to Lake Merced Golf Club

Nineteen of the top 20 players on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings have committed to tee it up at the second edition of the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic Presented by CTBC next week. The LPGA’s best return to Lake Merced Golf Club outside San Francisco for 72 holes of stroke-play competition, with defending champion and World No. 1 Lydia Ko aiming to defend her 2014 victory at the $2 million event.

VIDEO LINK: World No. 1 Lydia Ko Plays The “San Francisco” Par-5 on Media Day

Ko will be joined by 2014 runner-up and top-ranked American Stacy Lewis, as well as ANA Inspiration champion Brittany Lincicome, world No. 3 Inbee Park, 2014 U.S. Women’s Open champion Michelle Wie and Bay Area natives Paula Creamer, Juli Inkster and Christina Kim.

Tickets for the tournament are still available at www.SwingingSkirtsLPGAClassic.com in a variety of price ranges including Wednesday Only ($20), Tournament Round Daily ($25) and Weekly Grounds ($80) passes, as well as Champions Club hospitality packages. Complimentary admission to the tournament is provided to children ages 15 and under when accompanied by a paying adult.

“The Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic will again be a celebration of golf, art and culture,” said Kevin Hopkins, Executive Director. “With the generous support of Swinging Skirts, CTBC Bank and our local partners, we will once again welcome a world class field of the LPGA’s best to Lake Merced Golf Club. We hope fans will enjoy the most engaging athletes in sports as the best golfers in the world return to the Bay Area next week.”

Fans can also view the tournament on the LPGA’s global television partner networks including Golf Channel in the U.S., which will show live coverage Thursday, April 23 through Sunday, April 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time, and Fox in Taiwan.

Last year, Ko turned 17 and was named to the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list the week she claimed a one-stroke victory over Stacy Lewis at the inaugural Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic. She has gone on to accumulate 10 worldwide wins – including six on the LPGA – and rise to World No. 1 before her 18th birthday, which coincides with the second round next week.

Swinging Skirts Chairman Johnson Wang commented, “With only a few days remaining before the second edition of our event, we are once again thrilled to showcase our Taiwanese culture to golf fans both in San Francisco and around the world on television. We welcome Lydia Ko and the best players from the LPGA to Lake Merced Golf Club and we expect another fantastic week both on and off the golf course.”

Noor Menai, President & CEO of CTBC Bank USA, added, “CTBC Bank is proud to support the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic showcase of golf’s best global talent. This phenomenal event focuses important recognition of the players and the LPGA’s commitment to investment, perfection and dedication to the community, which is what our CTBC team is devoted to each day with our customers across the globe.”

About Swinging Skirts Golf Team

The Swinging Skirts Golf Team is a private, Taiwanese non-profit organization made up of both men and women amateur golfers with a shared goal of growing women’s golf across the globe via sponsoring top women’s golf tournaments as well as top female golfers. The Swinging Skirts members are avid golfers who always wear colorful skirts or kilts when they play to bring a fun atmosphere to some of golf’s oldest traditions, born hundreds of years ago at St. Andrews in Scotland. The Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic will be a celebration of the international nature of the game that showcases some of the best young talent from Taiwan competing against the very best players in the world.

About CTBC Bank

CTBC Financial Holding Co., Ltd. was established on May 17, 2002. What started out as a modest company with just 19 employees, grew into a powerhouse with locations around the world, over 10,000 employees, and assets in excess of NT$2 trillion. The key to CTBC Holding’s success has been our enduring adherence to the founder Mr. Koo’s ideal: “We are family.” By treating customers like family, we can anticipate our customers’ requests, even before they voice their needs. Through our extensive and diverse financial products, we can provide customers with ever more convenient services.

In order to provide customers with globalized and more convenient financial services, CTBC Holding and CTBC Life, a subsidiary of CTBC Holding, announced the acquisition of Manulife Taiwan at the end of July 2013 and completing the deal later on January 1, 2014, a strategic move which allows CTBC Life to offer customers a greatly expanded range of high quality services.

The acquisition of The Tokyo Star Bank, Ltd. by CTBC Holding’s subsidiary, CTBC Bank, was approved on December 20, 2013 during CTBC Holding’s extraordinary shareholder meeting. The transfer of 100% shares was completed on June 5, 2014. CTBC Bank is officially the sole shareholder of The Tokyo Star Bank, Ltd.

CTBC Holding will continue to stand by its brand spirit “We are family,” while we work to protect and build our clients’ wealth. We will also uphold our brand value by being caring, professional, and trustworthy, while providing our customers with a comprehensive variety of convenient financial services. CTBC Holding is set to become Taiwan Champion, Asia Leader and the best financial institute for Chinese around the world.

About Lake Merced Golf Club

Lake Merced Golf Club, a club steeped in the rich traditions of competition at the highest level of the sport, is proud to host the 2015 Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic Presented by CTBC, April 20 through April 26, 2015. Founded in 1922, the Club has welcomed PGA tour events (including the 1940 San Francisco Match Play Championship), U.S. Open qualifying tournaments and most recently, the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. In 1941, Babe Zaharias brought her legendary game to Lake Merced to compete in the San Francisco Women’s Open Match Play Championship.