Incheon, Korea: Thai teenager Eila Galitsky will further her golfing education this week when she makes her competitive debut in Korea.

The reigning Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) champion is part of a stellar ensemble of the region’s most promising talents taking part in the fifth edition of the Hana Financial Group Championship at the Bear’s Best Cheongna Golf Club.

“I’m very excited about this week because I’ve always wanted to play golf in Korea. I’ve been here for a vacation when I was younger but I’ve never played golf here before,” said the 16-year-old, whose triumph at the Singapore Island Country Club in the WAAP in March opened up many doors.

“It has been an awesome experience since winning the women’s amateur. It has been an eye-opener seeing how the other top golfers play their game. My experience is not there but I think I can compete. I just want to get as much experience as possible. For this week, my goal is to make the cut,” added Galitsky who will head to China next week where she flies the flag for Thailand in the Hangzhou Asian Games.

As well as securing her a starting spot in this week’s tournament, Galitsky’s WAAP victory earned her prestigious invitations to three professional Majors – the Chevron Championship, AIG Women’s Open, and Evian Championship. At the Chevron Championship, Galitsky tied 28th.

Joining Galitsky in the starting line-up at the Hana Financial Group Championship are fellow-Thai Jaravee Boonchant, Malaysian Ashley Lau, the Philippines’ Bianca Pagdanganan, Singapore’s Shannon Tan and Hong Kong’s Tiffany Chan.

They will square off against Major champions like Australian Minjee Lee, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and Thai Patty Tavatanakit as well as Koreans Lee Ye-won, Park Ji-young, Park Min-ji and Im Jin-hee, who currently fill the top four spots on the KLPGA Tour points list.