THE world's best women golfers will be swinging in town next year.

Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam and, possibly, Michelle Wie will be in town to tee-off at the inaugural HSBC Women's Champions tournament from Feb 28 to March 2 next year.

In addition to a glittering line-up, the event, to be held at the Tanah Merah Country Club's Garden Course, also boasts US$2 million (S$3.05 million) in prize money.

With a US$300,000 top prize, it will be Asia's richest women's tournament.

Modelled after a similar men's tournament which has been held in Shanghai since 2005, the event's stringent qualification will almost guarantee local enthusiasts a marquee field.

The top 30 from the Rolex world rankings at year-end and others will be invited to compete for the 'Champion of Champions' title.

They include winners on the 2007 Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour, and top players from the Ladies European Tour, the Japan and Korean LPGA, South Africa and Australia LPG and Ladies Asian Golf Tour.

Some of those already in the list after their LPGA victories include current world No. 1 Ochoa, 10-time Major winner Sorenstam, rising star Paula Creamer and Korean Pak Se Ri.

The 17-year-old Wie, one of the sport's biggest crowd-pullers, is likely to play here for the first time - either via a sponsor's invite or if she meets the qualification criteria.

'You could argue that no golf tournament here - men's or women's - has boasted a more stringent qualification criteria, or the potential for bringing in the biggest names,' said Mr Robbie Henchman, senior vice-president of event promoters IMG.

The 72-hole stroke-play event will not have a midway cut to weed out half the field, which means fans will get their money's worth throughout the four days of competition.

Mr Giles Morgan, HSBC's head of global sports marketing and sponsorship, said the decision to have the event in South-east Asia was a reflection of the rapid growth of women's golf in Asia.

He added: 'Geographically, having this in Singapore made sense. It's an international travel hub and has wonderful golf facilities. In all, it's a very good fit.'

Singapore will also stage the 2009 edition, he revealed.

But this will not be the first major women's tournament the Republic has hosted.

The Lexus Cup - from 2005 to 2006 - featured the likes of Sorenstam and Creamer in a Ryder Cup-style event pitting 12 Asians against 12 international stars.

The event, which was also held at Tanah Merah's Garden Course, has since headed to Perth.

The HSBC event, however, will offer a Singapore angle: one slot will be reserved for a local amateur, with organisers considering having a qualification tournament to decide who gets to play.

Creamer yesterday gave the new tournament the thumbs up, calling it a 'fantastic concept and an event we would all want to win'.