Even now, I can’t forget the emotions I felt at the time. It was and still is an unbelievable fact that Princess Mary Superal had won the trophy over the ‘absolute powerhouse’ that was Lydia Ko who had just became LPGA Tour’ s prize money Queen in 2022 and returned to the top of the world rankings. Besides Lydia, players like Hyo-joo Kim (ranked 8th in the world) and So-yeon Ryu (former major champion) tried to chase after Princess but to no avail. Having won the individual competition at the Simone Asia Pacific Cup, Princess Mary Superal of the Philippines said that her heart beats rapidly whenever she thinks about how she had won. She’d also finished 2nd in the teams competition with her compatriot Pauline Del Rosario.

Princess made her professional debut in 2016 on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour. In 2019, she’d won the most prize money in the tour for that year and in 2021 won the ‘ICTSI Sherwood Ladies Challenge’ and the ‘ICTSI Eagle Ridge Challenge’. Despite being a top player in the Philippine Tour, no one expected her to be able to compete with the likes of such prominent world-class players. However, on the final day of the tournament, she overwhelmed her competitors with 3 birdies in the first four holes and defied all expectations. The $100,000 prize money she’d received for her win was the largest she’d ever won.

With tears of joy in her eyes, Princess exclaimed,” It’s so special to me because it’s my first international tournament win as a professional golfer. I’ve waited so long for this moment to come and I’m so happy that it did.” She added, “I learned a lot by playing with such world-class players like Bo-mee Lee, So-yeon Ryu, and Lydia Ko, who I watch a lot on TV.” Since her win, she has gained confidence and expressed her intention to try again to play on the LPGA Tour. This is what we’ve come to learn about Princess since her historic win and as a ‘world champion’.



Do you remember that emotional moment when you won the Simone APAC Cup? How did you feel in the days following your historic win?

I honestly couldn't believe I had won after that tournament. I was so happy since it was my first international win.

You must have gained confidence after winning. What's changed for you since?

That win gave me a lot of confidence knowing I had the ability to do that and knowing I can win despite competing against many top ranked players from Asia How would you describe your style of golf? What are its advantages and disadvantages?

My short game is pretty good, which I think makes up for the fact that I don't hit the ball very far off the tee.

How did the people around you react after you won? Do people recognize you more now that you've won? If there's an interesting instance when you were recognized, please share.

Many people were congratulating me and expressed happiness that I had won. Nothing interesting happened but when I play in different courses back home, a lot of caddies are asking me to take pictures with them.

Since your win at the Simone APAC Cup, which tournaments have you played in and how did you do?

After competing in Indonesia, I participated in a couple tournaments in Thailand. I didn't exactly perform well in some of the events but I finished second place at my last tournament in Thailand a month ago.

What is something memorable you've spent on using your prize winnings?

Most memorable memory i think is when my family and I took a beach trip back home. Being able to rest and spent time with my family made it special for me.