HSBC WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

February 26, 2025

Shannon Tan

Xingtong Chen

Sentosa Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. Shannon, you had a pretty strong start to your career. Now playing in your home country on one of the biggest stages, how is it to be able to play in the HSBC Women's World Championship in front of your home crowd?

SHANNON TAN: For me, that you feel for the invite. I've basically grown up watching this event, and also played HSBC youth golf challenge. I basically grow up watching golf in Singapore, and it play in front of family and friends -- and I've been growing up, it's always been my major, and it's also Asia's major but really thankful and honored to get in the HSBC world's championships.

Q. What's the key for you this week?

SHANNON TAN: Just treating it like going to any other event. Take it one shot at a time, one hole at a time and just do my best.

Q. What does it mean to you to play here and how have you prepared for this challenge ahead?

XINGTONG CHEN: I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to be playing this amazing event once again. I think to be able to win the national qualifiers for the second time in a row, it wasn't something that I expected but I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity. I've just been playing at Sentosa more.

Q. You're just 16 years old and you had a chance to compete alongside LPGA champions. What are you most excited about and is there a player in the field you're looking forward to play with?

XINGTONG CHEN: I think just being able to compete with the world's best. Looking forward to trying my luck against them in a tournament, and hopefully I'll be able to play with Lydia again this year. I think just being able to play with like the world's best is enough.

Q. What did you learn from last year that you'll carry forward to this year?

XINGTONG CHEN: I think being the only Singaporean on the field and being my first time there, but this year I'll definitely be able to handle the pressure better with the experience I have.

Q. Did you practise?

SHANNON TAN: Yeah, we played on Saturday, a few days ago, like five days ago.

Q. Can you talk about being a Singaporean and playing this week?

SHANNON TAN: For the first time this event is in Singapore -- for Singapore golf itself, but yeah, definitely a good thing to have a Singaporean playing as well.

XINGTONG CHEN: I think it's a great opportunity for Singapore golf and it shows how much golf in Singapore has grown as a whole.

Q. Obviously life has changed for you. How have you been coping so far?

SHANNON TAN: Yeah, I think this were a couple lessons that I learned from last year. I played a total of 29 events year and I did a lot of weeks back-to-back. I think at some points of the year, I felt quite burned out. But I feel like as a rookie, I had to go through all that and figure out what my limit was and what works best for me, as well.

I think going into this year, I'm hoping to play 23 events, around that number, and I think one of the things that I feel is that I really struggled getting my gym sessions in if I played back-to-back weeks.

So trying to get a routine of not playing so much and still doing my gym sessions, and going for physio and all the other stuff, as well.

So I think, yeah, just knowing my limit.

Q. What is your mindset like playing in this event?

SHANNON TAN: Just take it one shot at a time and focus on what's in front of me at that point. I don't really look into the past or look into the future. I just stay in the present. I think if I do that this whole week, yeah, just basically focus on what I have in front of me.

Q. As the only amateur in the field, what are your thoughts -- and the opportunities to earn your first point?

XINGTONG CHEN: I think it's a great opportunity for like amateurs. Just having a pathway to the LPGA, I think it's something that would be extremely beneficial to our growth, and to the growth of golf as a whole, yeah.

Q. Can you talk about the experience at the Marina Bay Sands?

SHANNON TAN: Yeah, really great interview with hand in a -- we're quite good friends but nice being there with Charley and Lilia overall. It wasn't my first time up on that whole area, but it was nice to be out there, and also be in a photo.

Q. How is it seeing your face in the newspapers?

SHANNON TAN: I guess it's quite good to see myself, I guess. But overall, it's a good thing. I think the photo of Singapore golf -- if it helps to grow golf in Singapore.

Q. Can you just talk about your experience at the Olympics?

SHANNON TAN: Yeah, the whole experience was great. It was an honour to represent Singapore in ultimately the biggest tournament. Yeah, to be the first Singaporean golfer at the Olympics is really special. The thing with the Olympics, it's the biggest crowds that women's golf had ever seen, and also playing amongst the world's best, and also seeing Lydia, like, win the Gold Medal and get the whole thing, like be there, was really special.

Q. How do the two of you manage your golf swings? What are the things that you do?

SHANNON TAN: For me, I think I have a lot of different areas of golf, like short game, putting, iron game -- and the mental aspect, I think a lot of different aspects come into play. For the technical side of things, I work with my coach and we do things in the off-season. Just a lot more target practise and just like tuning it in. So that's basically like the technical side. And then I go to the gym, and knowing how much you can work on in during the week and the knowing what your limit is so you can keep yourself up at a high level.

On the mental side of it, I think I've always been a rather calm person. I've been told that I've always been calm. But at some point, you feel -- and you feel because you care. Usually like the nerves -- I've never really struggled on that time but I've seen a psychologist for a couple years, 2023. I don't take practise strokes over eight feet. I just look at the hole. That's the only thing for me.

XINGTONG CHEN: Can you repeat the first part of your question? I didn't quite catch it.

Q. What do you do to improve your mental game?

XINGTONG CHEN: Usually I'm working with like a mental coach, Dr. Jay Lee, who is part of the SG Programme right now. So basically it's just working on staying in the present. Like focusing on, like, and just not like traveling to the future and thinking too much about the past.

For me, it's sticking to my routine and trusting my plan. For me, I personally like to, like when I become stressed, I like to take it at the pin too much and be too aggressive, and just like having to remember to trust my plan and my game plan and just sticking to -- like, the strategy that I have.