84 players from LPGA, KLPGA Tours to compete
Seo Gyo-rim, Kim Min-sol among domestic contenders
The LPGA Tour's BMW Ladies Championship will be held Oct. 22–25 at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province.
BMW Korea, the tournament organizer, announced Wednesday a field that includes top LPGA Tour players Kim Sei-young, Ryu Hae-ran and Kim Hyo-joo.
A total of 84 players will compete for the $2.35 million purse — 68 from the LPGA Tour, 15 from the KLPGA Tour and one invitee. The 15 KLPGA Tour spots went to the top players on the money list through Sunday's HJ Shipbuilding & Construction-Dongbu Championship.
The player drawing the most attention is defending champion Kim Sei-young. Last year, Kim claimed a wire-to-wire victory to return to the top of the LPGA Tour for the first time in roughly five years since 2020, and she now seeks to become the first back-to-back champion in the tournament's history. She is currently ranked ninth in the world.
Ryu Hae-ran, ranked third in the world, is another strong title contender. Ryu won the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship this year, then added a KLPGA Tour title at the Hite Jinro Championship on Monday. She has now won three majors across the Korean and American circuits in a single season and shows no signs of slowing down.
Kim Hyo-joo, ranked fifth in the world, is chasing her third win of the season. She won back-to-back titles at the Fortinet Founders Cup and the Ford Championship this year, lifting her LPGA Tour career total to nine victories.
On the domestic side, Seo Gyo-rim and Kim Min-sol — who are battling for the top spots in both the KLPGA Tour's player-of-the-year points and money rankings — will also compete. Kim Min-sol, ranked 13th in the world, finished in the top 10 at this event as an amateur in 2022.
Other participants include LPGA Tour players Choi Hye-jin, Kim A-lim, Lim Jin-hee, Yoon I-na, Lee So-mi and Hwang Yu-min, as well as KLPGA Tour players Park Min-ji, Lee Ye-won, Yoo Hyun-jo and Kim Min-sun 7.
Han Sang-yoon, president of BMW Korea, said the company would do its best to prepare the tournament so that domestic golf fans can enjoy a special head-to-head competition, noting it is the first time in five years that KLPGA Tour players will compete alongside their LPGA counterparts.
Meanwhile, the LPGA Tour kicks off a four-week Asian Swing with the Buick LPGA Shanghai — a $3.2 million event at Seosan Golf Club (par 72) in Shanghai, China, running Thursday through Sunday — ahead of the BMW Ladies Championship. Eleven Korean players are in the field, including Kim Sei-young, Lim Jin-hee, Choi Hye-jin, Kim A-lim, Shin Ji-eun, Lee Mi-hyang, Yang Hee-young and Hwang Yu-min. Kim Sei-young will defend her title in Haenam after wrapping up the China event.
At the Buick LPGA Shanghai, world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand will chase her fifth win of the season and a second straight title at the event, with world No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States sitting out.
yjc@heraldcorp.com
