Shin confides in Canberra

Jiyai Shin with the trophy in 2018.

World champion number 25 and defending champion Jiyai Shin feels confident as she prepares for the defense of the ActewAGL Canberra Classic, which she won last year in style at the Royal Canberra Golf Club.

The Korean superstar will re-start the tournament as the highest ranked player in the field this week and will be the favorite at the conclusion of its third title of three events in Royal Canberra, after the 2013 ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open and the ActewAGL Canberra Classic in 2018.

Shin clearly preferred Canberra and Australia as a whole, she also won the Australian Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast in 2015.

"Last year I started my season in Canberra and I had a great year.I like coming back to Canberra, it's such a nice quiet place and I want to learn as much as possible, while I'm here about Australia and its history, "said Shin.

One player who hopes she can match it with the Korean star is the Australian Hannah Green, who finished a top 10 at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open in Adelaide two weeks ago and then finished second in Pacific Bay from last week Resort Classic at Bonville.

The 22-year-old is only in her third year as a professional and goes to the US to participate in the LPGA Tour in March for her second season against the leading players in the world

While Green still has to taste the victory on Australian soil, in 2016 she won three professional victories during her participation in the American Symetra Tour.

"This is my first visit to Royal Canberra this week, I am really looking forward to the tournament and I look forward to proving that I can win that first victory at home", Green said

Dame Laura Davies returned to Canberra this week and will play the opening two laps next to Shin and Green at 08.03 tomorrow morning from the tenth tee.

Historically, the lay-out of Royal Canberra was not good for Davies, but she comes from a solid year on the LPGA Tour in 2018 and also collected two senior major titles on the Women's Legends Tour, the US Senior Women & # 39; s Open and the Senior Ladies LPGA Championship.

The 55-year-old is always a crowd favorite wherever she puts it and she will undoubtedly prove to her much younger playing partners that she can still compete at this level on the regular women's tours.

Other players expected to compete this week are the Pacific Bay Resort Classic champion Marianne Skarpnord and the Dutch star Anne Van Dam, who had a spectacular finish in 2018 with the Estrella Damm Ladies Open and the Andalucia Open De Espana on the Ladies European Tour and also obtaining her full playing rights for 2019 on the American LPGA Tour.

Sydney-amateur Doey Choi hopes she can play herself in battle, just like last week in Bonville with a fourth place. Choi & # 39; s fellow NSW team-mate, Grace Kim, who had had a fantastic 2018 season, including winning the gold medal at the Olympics, also hopes to impress this week. Just like their NSW countryman Stephanie Kyriacou who crowned the female Master of The Amateurs in January in Royal Melbourne.

The game starts on Friday morning at 7:30 am, tickets can be bought online HERE or at the gate.

Live scoring you will find HERE and first start times, HERE.

If you can not find the Royal Canberra Golf Club before Sunday's final round, you can watch all live action live streamed through the ALPG YouTube and Facebook pages.