Wie wishes for women’s major event in Asia

singapore — Michelle Wie said she would like to see one of the five women’s major championships staged in Asia.

The region’s heavy interest in the women’s game, buoyed by the number of local players at the top of the world rankings, is reflected with seven events on the LPGA schedule in Asia, including the HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore from March 3-6.

But the 26-year-old KoreanAmerican said she would like Asia to get in on the major scene, which was boosted to five in 2013 when the French-based Evian Championship joined the British Open and three American hosted elite championships.

“I think the HSBC tournament is always a really strong field. The players always love to come to Singapore,” she told localbased reporters in a call on Saturday when asked if the tournament featuring all of the top 10 merited major billing.

“I think whether or not it should be a major tournament is really not in our hands. The LPGA takes in to consideration a lot of guidelines regarding that.

“It would be nice to see Asia have a major championship. Some things need to happen for that, you never know...it would be really nice to see.”

Wie won a breakthrough major at the 2014 US Open but said she has struggled for fitness since and now sits 33rd in the world rankings. She said she had spent the off-season working to improve her health and was targeting a drive back up the rankings.

“I’m really excited about 2016. 2015 was tough with injuries so my number one goal is to stay healthy and have a season where everything is great and I feel healthy and injury free.” — Reuters