A 'relaxed' Princess Mary Superal of the Philippines is ready to fend off competition from some of the world-class players once again as she bids to defend the individual title at the Simone Asia-Pacific Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia, this week.
The 26-year-old, who pulled off a fairy tale victory by beating major winners So-yeon Ryu of South Korea and New Zealand's Lydia Ko in the inaugural edition 16 months ago, is downplaying the pressure to secure back-to-back wins ahead of the tee-off on Thursday at the renowned Pondok Indah Golf Club.
Both Ryu and Ko are not returning this time, but the US$750,000 tournament, which also features a national team event, boasts star power with world No. 9 Atthaya Thitikul and No. 17 Nasa Hataoka of Japan leading the 58-player field.
Atthaya enters the competition fresh from winning the Vare Trophy on the just-concluded LPGA Tour, an award given to the player with the lowest scoring average, while Hataoka concluded a commendable joint runner-up at the LPGA Tour's season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
Adding to the formidable lineup of competitors in the event jointly sanctioned by the Ladies Asian Tour (LAT) and Asia Golf Leaders Forum (AGLF) are the cream of the crop from the KLPGA Tour, namely Da-yeon Lee, So-young Lee, Min-byeol Kim, and You-min Hwang.
Despite returning as the defending champion, Princess believes she's still an underdog in the tournament- just like last year.
"Last year, going into this tournament, I wasn't expecting anything. I was just here to play, really focused on my own game, and when I won the tournament, it just stunned me," said Princess, who's playing on the JLPGA's second-tier Step Up Tour.
"It was my first-ever professional win, and I've been able to grow confidence in my game ever since then.
"I plan to do just the same this year, just mind my own game while learning from all the top players.
"There's no pressure at all. Frankly, I just feel very grateful to be able to play in the Simone Asia-Pacific Cup again and want to enjoy playing this week."
Princess is also eager to contend strongly again against defending champions South Korea in the team event.
Last year, Princess, with then-partner Pauline Del Rosario, finished second to eventual winners Ryu and Bo-mee Lee.
This time, Princess will be teaming up with LPGA Tour player Bianca Pagdanganan, who was part of the Filipino side that famously beat South Korea to the Indonesia Asian Games team gold in 2018, held at the Pondok Indah Golf Club.
"Having won the individual title, it's definitely a goal of mine to aim for glory in the team event," said Princess.
"It's going to be a great experience for both myself and Bianca. We will try to do our very best to contend."
Ends.
