Fubon Financial Holdings, one of Taiwan’s biggest financial institutions, will sponsor the Taiwan leg of the LPGA tour through 2016.
Fubon made the announcement on Thursday. The sponsorship will allow Taiwan to continue to play a part in the lady’s golf tournament.
The Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship will be held at the Linkou Miramar Golf Country Club in New Taipei City in late October. 81 players will compete for a total prize of US$2 million.
Games since 2011 had been hosted by the Sunrise Golf & Country Club in Taoyuan County under a three-year contract with the US-based LPGA. But Sunrise chairman decided to end sponsorship due to financial considerations.
The fate of this year’s event was uncertain before Fubon agreed to sponsor the tournament. Fubon chairman Daniel Tsai said golf will return as an Olympic sport in 2016. He also said he hopes by holding the LPGA tournament in Taiwan, more people will develop an interest in the sport.