Golfer Ryu Hae-ran celebrates after securing victory in the final round of the 26th Hitejinro Championship at Blue Heron Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 4.KLPGA
World No. 3 and two-time major champion Ryu Hae-ran will headline a field of over 80 players at the upcoming LPGA Tour event in Korea.
Organizers of the BMW Ladies Championship announced Wednesday that Ryu will be the highest-ranked player teeing off when the four-day tournament begins Oct. 22 at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam County in Jeonnam-Gwangju.
Ryu will be joined by defending champion Kim Sei-young, No. 9 in the latest rankings, and world No. 5 Kim Hyo-joo, who has two LPGA wins this season.
Ryu captured back-to-back major titles this summer, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June and the Amundi Evian Championship in July, to crack the top three in the world rankings. Ryu also won a Korea LPGA (KLPGA) major tournament at the start of October.
At last year's BMW tournament, Kim Sei-young ended her five-year LPGA title drought with her wire-to-wire victory and did so in front of her family and friends. She is from Yeongam County in Jeonnam-Gwangju. The 33-year-old will try to become the first player to win consecutive BMW Ladies Championships.
Kim Hyo-joo is having a strong season, too, with two victories and four other top-10 finishes in 16 starts.
Kim Sei-young Kim hits a drive from the fourth tee box during the final round of the CPKC Women's Open golf tournament at Royal Mayfair Golf Club on Aug. 23.REUTERS/YONHAP
Aside from this trio of Koreans, English star Lottie Woad, at No. 7, is the only other top-10 player in the field.
The tournament will also feature 15 players from the KLPGA Tour, including Kim Min-sol and Seo Kyo-rim.
Kim, a 20-year-old rookie, is currently leading the Korean tour in money and the Rookie of the Year points. Seo is the leader in the Player of the Year points and sits second behind Kim in money.
Seo has won four tournaments this year to Kim's three, but Kim is currently the top KLPGA player in the world rankings at No. 13, 19 spots ahead of Seo.
A non-LPGA member who wins an LPGA tournament becomes eligible for LPGA membership. That player can either accept an LPGA card immediately or defer it to the start of the following season
