Koh, Tan start anew in Taiwan after tough year

After a tough 2024 for Amanda Tan and Koh Sock Hwee, the Singaporean golfers are charting new paths together as they take their sporting pursuits closer to home.

- Kimberly Kwek

While they were playing in different countries—Tan on the United States' second-tier Epson Tour and Koh on the Ladies European Tour (LET) Access series, the development tour for the LET—both faced similar struggles with their form, prompting them to turn to the Taiwan LPGA (TLPGA) Tour.

In late November, they earned their TLPGA Tour cards for the 2025 season, with Koh and Tan coming in 15th and 17th respectively in a qualifying tournament at the Sun City Golf Club in Hsinchu.

The season will begin with the Hitachi Air Conditioning Ladies Classic from Jan 10 to 12. The tournament, which takes place at Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Taoyuan, has a NT$10 million (S$415,300) prize purse.

Koh said: "Playing in the second tour in Europe, the money is not a lot but your expenses are very high, so it might not make economical sense.

"After making that decision to focus on Asia and keeping our China Tour card, trying to secure Taiwan was the main goal."

The 35-year-old, who previously played on the TLPGA Tour for three years, is pleased to have secured a full schedule on the Taiwanese tour next season after they finished in the top 20 of the qualifying tournament.