Top players from the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour and the LPGA Tour will face off in Haenam this week.
The LPGA Tour's BMW Ladies Championship will be held over four days beginning Thursday at Pine Beach Golf Links, a par-72 course in Haenam County, South Jeolla Province.
The tournament, the only LPGA Tour event held in South Korea, will feature 84 players competing for $2.35 million in prize money.
This year, 15 KLPGA Tour players earned spots in the field under a partnership agreement between the two tours.
The places went to the top 15 players on the KLPGA season money list following the HJ Shipbuilding & Construction-Dongbu Construction Championship, which ended Oct. 11.
Leading the KLPGA contingent are money leader Kim Min-sol and second-ranked Seo Gyo-rim.
Kim has won three times on the KLPGA Tour this season and has maintained strong form, recording five top-five finishes in her past nine events, including three runner-up finishes.
Seo has four victories this season and leads the tour's Player of the Year points standings. However, she has recently struggled with fatigue and withdrew after the first round of last week's Iceberg Golf-Seoul Shinmun Open because of rib pain.
Other KLPGA players in the field include Kim Min-sun, Yoo Hyun-jo, Choi Ye-rim, Jang Eun-soo, Lee Da-yeon, Bang Shin-sil, Lee Ye-won, Kim Min-ju, Park Bo-gyeom, Park Min-ji, Jeon Ye-sung, Yoo Seo-yeon and Park Hye-jun.
The LPGA field includes defending champion Kim Sei-young, two-time major winner Ryu Hae-ran and Kim Hyo-joo, who has won four times this year across events in the United States and South Korea.
World No. 7 Lottie Woad of England and former world No. 1 Celine Boutier of France are also scheduled to compete.
Ryu will also look to strengthen her position in the race for the Vare Trophy, awarded to the player with the lowest scoring average.
Nelly Korda currently leads the category but is not playing this week and is unlikely to meet the minimum requirement of 70 rounds by the end of the season.
That leaves Ryu, currently second with a 69.54 scoring average, competing with Miyu Yamashita of Japan at 69.64 and Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand at 69.81.
With Yamashita and Thitikul both skipping the tournament, Ryu has an opportunity to widen the gap.
Choi Hye-jin, who finished runner-up at the Buick LPGA Shanghai last week, will also seek her first LPGA Tour victory on home soil.
Choi joined the LPGA Tour in 2022 and has finished runner-up five times without winning.
Japanese players Akie Iwai, Chisato Iwai, Minami Katsu and Nasa Hataoka are also in the field.
Pine Beach Golf Links, which is hosting the tournament for a second consecutive year, is located along the coast and is known for strong winds.
Several holes run alongside coastal cliffs, while heavily contoured greens are also expected to challenge the players.
(This article was produced with the assistance of AI. — Ed. )