Players named Kim Sei-young and Choi Hye-jin as the top favorites at a press conference held on the 21st at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Jeolla Province (Jeonnam), a day before the start of the BMW Ladies Championship, the only LPGA Tour event held in South Korea, with a total purse of $2.35 million.
Six players attended the press conference: defending champion Kim Sei-young, Yu Hae-ran, Choi Hye-jin and Yoon Yi-na, along with Seo Kyo-rim and Kim Min-sol of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour. A total of 84 players are competing in the tournament, including 15 KLPGA Tour members who earned spots under a partnership agreement between the KLPGA Tour and the LPGA Tour.
Asked who they expected to win, three of the six players each picked Kim Sei-young or Choi Hye-jin. Choi named Kim, saying she was looking forward to her play this year. Kim returned the compliment, saying she wanted to name herself but would choose Choi instead, adding that she hoped Choi would put the disappointment of the previous event behind her and post a strong result this week. Seo also picked Choi, saying she appeared likely to carry over the good form she showed at the recent LPGA event, while Yu chose Kim, citing her wealth of experience and her strong play last year.
Kim led outright from the opening day at last year's tournament and claimed a wire-to-wire victory for the 13th title of her career. It was her first win in five years, since the Pelican Women's Championship in November 2020, and carried added meaning because it came in Haenam, near her hometown of Yeongam.
Kim, who is seeking the tournament's first successful title defense, said it felt as if her victory had come only days ago and that returning to Haenam as the champion gave her a fresh sense of emotion. She added that the area feels especially familiar because it is where her family is from, and said she would show strong play as a way of repaying the fans.
Choi is chasing her first LPGA Tour win at this event. She led through three rounds at last week's Buick LPGA Shanghai before Yin Ruoning of China overtook her on the final day, leaving Choi as runner-up, and she said she intends to put that disappointment behind her. She said the final round in Shanghai was frustrating but that having chances come around often means there is reason for hope, adding that she has good memories of this tournament from last year, when she tied for seventh, and would prepare calmly with a first victory as her goal.
Players who completed their practice rounds all pointed to wind as the biggest variable. Given the layout of Pine Beach Golf Links, which sits next to the sea, how players handle the strong coastal winds is expected to determine the outcome.
Kim said the wind blew hard at about 20 miles per hour on the day as well, and that the strong winds at Haenam would be a key test for players to overcome and a decisive factor. Yu said coastal wind is hard to adjust to no matter how much experience a player has, but added that she has developed know-how through events such as the AIG Women's Open and would manage her rounds more steadily than last year.
Yoon, Kim Min-sol and Seo all stressed the importance of preparing for the wind. Yoon said rain is forecast over the weekend and wind would be the biggest factor, and that she would guide her rounds calmly and with composure. Kim Min-sol said that in strong winds, players should attack the course smartly rather than try to overpower the wind. Seo said she was surprised by the wind the previous day because of the coastal location, and that she had carefully checked its effects during her practice round.