Reigning Evian Championship winner Grace Kim duelled with Victoria’s Su Oh for that championship; it was Oh who would go on to win by four strokes.

Organisers were crestfallen that the much-anticipated return of the event last year – and a Festival of Golf suite of events on site - had to be cancelled because of the looming impact of Cyclone Alfred. Local and visiting players were forced to shelter in place on and around the Gold Coast or were billeted across NSW to ensure a) their safety; and b) they could get to the next event the following week in Coffs Harbour.

If there is any bright side to last year’s disappointment, it’s that circumstances are now likely to allow Oh with the chance to ‘defend’ her 2022 win, a good four years in the making.

Major champion Hannah Green and fellow LPGA star Steph Kyriacou will be a formidable presence as tournament headliners after announcing their intentions to tee it up at the $600,000 event on the Gold Coast. Green will be at almost unbackable odds after winning her last two starts, at the HSBC Women's Championship in Singapore and after achieving a childhood dream in claiming the Women's Australian Open at Kooyonga Golf Club on Sunday. 

Su Oh celebrates winning the 2021 WPGA Championship. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Joining them as a star attraction on the Gold Coast will be NSW's Kelsey Bennett, who has progressed from being a local hope in these events to becoming a Ladies European Tour winner and mentioned among pre-tournament favourites in the course of a just few short weeks on the Australian swing. Bennett survived the rain and wind squalls of the final round at the Australian Women's Classic to claim victory and backed it up with another solid outing (tied 21st) in the Australian Open last week.

Coming into Sanctuary Cove, she now sits in second place on the LET Order of Merit behind Frenchwoman Agathe Laisne, the recent Women's NSW Open champion and Australian Open joint runner-up behind Green.

Fellow Australians Sarah Kemp, Kirsten Rudgeley, Hannah Reeves and Australian Amateur champion Jazy Roberts have shown form of late, while Queenslander Justice Bosio and Victorian Stephanie Bunque will also be among the locals hellbent on stealing some of the limelight from their more accomplished countrywomen.

Hannah Green is chasing an epic double on the Gold Coast. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Add to that a now familiar slew of Ladies European Tour stars - headed by last year's Order of Merit winner Shannon Tan, Casandra Alexander, Anna Huang, Alice Hewson, Alexandra Forsterling and the red-hot Laisne - and it will be a case of 'Who do I follow first?' for spectators on the ground at Sanctuary Cove.

The Festival of Golf is back with a host of activities around the course precinct and Marine Village, and the Palms course will get its chance to be showcased to players and the broader public after course upgrade work that has been progressing over the past two years. Upgrades to bunkering and surrounds across the entire course were completed in time for the 2025 event but with an additional 12 months’ consolidation and grow in, the layout is in amazing shape heading into the week.

Some routing changes for the tournament will see the regular 10th hole – a risk/reward par-five with water protecting the front of the green – play as the 18th for the championship. In association with Crafter+Mogford, a recent redesign of the hole has been undertaken to accommodate its conversion to a short par-four for members, but it will revert to its original construct for the championship.

Players will need to make a quick adjustment from last week's bent grass to Tifeagle green surfaces and surrounds during practice rounds, and determine a strategy that capitalises on the best angles of approach into the large green complexes, which feature significant slopes and contours.      

The early forecast suggests a chance of some rainy conditions for Sunday; however, the rest of the week is expected to be clear and warm.