THE MODERATOR: Welcome Mollie Marcoux Samaan, LPGA commissioner, to deliver a speech. The floor is yours, Mollie.
MOLLIE MARCOUX SAMAAN: Thank you all for being here. Distinguished guests, I'm really pleased to be here in Shanghai to witness the best players in the world compete on the biggest stage for this coveted championship.
They will not only entertain what I hope will be a very large and enthusiastic crowd, but I know that they'll also inspire many young girls as they witness the very best in the world.
This week, thanks to the hard work and support of our friends at the China Golf Association, the Shanghai Administration of Sport, our title partner Buick and IMG, the LPGA Tour returns to Shanghai, where Angel Yin, one of our most popular player and daughter of Chinese descent, defends her title.
At the LPGA, we think of ourselves as much more than just the world's oldest professional women's sports league, and by the way, we will be celebrating our 75th anniversary next year.
The LPGA in our view and in the views of our partners is a global sports and entertainment brand. Our membership includes athletes from 35 different countries, and our television reach extends to 175 countries on every continent.
More than half of the top 100 players in the world today hail from Asia, including the current No. 4 player in the world, Ruoning Yin, and world No. 18, our reigning Olympic bronze medalist, Xiyu Lin, both of whom represent the Peoples Republic of China, both of whom are wonderful members of the LPGA Tour and among our very best.
They aren't alone; Shanshan Feng became the first golfer from China, man or woman, ever to reach No. 1 in the world. Shanshan, who was beloved on the LPGA Tour for her charm and quit wit, was also the first golfer from China to ever win an Olympic medal, taking bronze in the 2016 games in Rio.
Now with Ruoning and Xiyu along with 22 other world-class Chinese players like Muni He and Riuxin Liu and Yu Liu have the opportunity to compete this week in the Buick LPGA Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club. We are very proud of our global reach and ability for sports and golf in particular to bring people from all over the world together around a common purpose.
So once again, I look forward to a fantastic week of golf and inspiration.
THE MODERATOR: Ladies, please rise and proceed to the stage and take your seats for the Q & A portion.
Q. (Not in English.)
XIYU LIN: It was a crazy shift from Tokyo to Paris; winning the bronze medal was a dream come true, showed it to everyone, people felt happy and excited about it, it's a big honor, and obviously caused a shift in my perspective. This week I want to enjoy the game and show my best skills in front of Chinese fans.
Q. Talk about this year, coming back from the Olympic Games to this place as Buick ambassador. We're happy to welcome all the players from around the world.
XIYU LIN: I'm very happy playing in front of home crowds.
Q. (Not in English.)
RUONING YIN: I managed top 10 in Paris 2024 and tied second AIG Women's Open. I handled the challenges there, had a very positive attitude. In the earlier stages of the year I struggled a lot, but I felt I performed better than the first half of the year. I want to play a better game this week at Qizhong Garden Golf Club.
Q. (Not in English.)
ANGEL YIN: Not a lot of changes. Why make changes after winning last year's tournament? Not a lot of changes, just take a break, take a rest and continue to compete. At the end of last year I broke my foot, and after recovering I'll try my best to defend the title. I enjoyed my consistent performance the last couple of weeks.
Q. (Not in English.)
ROSE ZHANG: It's my second time competing in Shanghai. It's a good feeling to return. To be honest with you, I arrived in Shanghai last Friday and saw a lot of friends and hung out with them and went to downtown. Enjoyed it; had a good time in Shanghai and China.
Q. Hannah, what's your goal this week at this tournament?
HANNAH GREEN: This is my first time to Shanghai, so I'm really excited to be here. I've obviously played the course Monday and yesterday, so get to play it this afternoon, but I'm liking the golf course so far.
I've had the last five weeks off from competitive golf. I decided to take a little bit of a break and go back to Australia, and I think that's been really good for my mental health, just to enjoy being at home and even put the golf clubs away for a week and just relax. I'm really looking forward to competing and hopefully I don't have too much rust after five weeks, but I'm excited to play in front of the Chinese crowd.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports