BMW Ladies Championship, Korea's sole LPGA event, returns to Paju

Minjee Lee hits a shot during the BMW Ladies Championship at the Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi on Oct. 22, 2023. [YONHAP]

The 2024 BMW Ladies Championship will take place at the Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi in October for a second straight year.

The BMW Championship was the only LPGA or PGA tournament held in Korea last year and saw Minjee Lee of Australia clinch the title after winning a playoff against Alison Lee of the United States.

Shin Ji-yai and Lee Jeong-eun6 managed the best finishes among the Korean contingent, both tying for fifth alongside England's Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Thailand's Atthaya Thitikul and France's Celine Boutier.

The four-day stroke play event will see 78 golfers — consisting of 68 golfers from the Tour, eight invitees and two amateur invitees from the Korea Golf Association — competing for a total prize money of $2.2 million and $330,000 for the winner.

The BMW Championship debuted on the Tour in 2019 and has seen two Korean winners so far: 2019 champion Jang Ha-na and 2021 winner Ko Jin-young.

Ko also won the tournament in 2016 and 2017 when it was solely part of the KLPGA. She displayed a lackluster performance in last year’s BMW Championship, tying for 48th place.

Ko was one of the four Korean winners on the Tour last season, but she has yet to win a trophy on the Tour this year. No Korean golfer has won an LPGA tournament so far in 2024.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda, meanwhile, has won four of the eight tournaments so far this season, winning the LPGA Drive On Championship in January before managing three title wins in a row — Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, Ford Championship and T-Mobile Match Play.

The BMW Championship will happen during the Asian swing that will start with the Buick LPGA Shanghai in China on Oct. 10.

The BMW Championship will begin on Oct. 17.

The Chevron Championship, the first major of the season, will take place on Thursday.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]