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New LPGA season tees off in Orlando with Korean looking to defend title

Published: 27 Jan. 2026, 14:10

Kim A-lim poses with the trophy after winning the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 2, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]

The 2026 LPGA Tour season will tee off in Florida this week, with Korean veteran Kim A-lim trying to defend her title from a year ago.

The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions will bring together 39 LPGA winners from the past two seasons at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando starting Thursday. They will vie for a $2.1 million purse on the par-72, 6,624-yard course.

Kim will be one of six Koreans in the field. She will look to become the first player to win back-to-back titles at this season-opening event since its launch in 2019.

The 2025 season saw a record 29 different winners on the tour, a group that includes a trio of first-time champions from Korea: Lee So-mi, Im Jin-hee and Hwang You-min.

Lee and Im combined to win the Dow Championship in June 2025, the lone team event on the tour, while Hwang captured the Lotte Championship that October as a nonmember, and the breakthrough victory netted the Korean tour star an LPGA Tour card for 2026.

Ryu Hae-ran, the 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year, will also tee off this week, thanks to a victory in each of the past two years. Veteran Amy Yang will play this week after winning the 2024 KPMG Women's PGA Championship for her first career major title.

Among recent Korean winners, Kim Hyo-joo and Kim Sei-young will skip this week's event.

The field features world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand and 2024 champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand.

There will be 31 tournaments this season, including one in Korea: the BMW Ladies Championship in October.

Yonhap