Korea's LPGA pros vie for a win at $7.9 million Chevron Championship

Two-time major champion Ryu So-yeon bids farewell after this weekend.

Korea's Ko Jin-young plays her shot from the fifth tee during the second round of The Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods on April 21, 2023 in The Woodlands, Texas. [YONHAP]

A total of 20 Korean golfers are set to tee off at the Chevron Championship on Thursday, joining a packed 132-player field in the race for the first major title of the 2024 LPGA season.

The tournament, which returns to The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas for the second year in a row, is offering its biggest purse yet — $7.9 million, up from last year’s $5.2 million, the LPGA and tournament sponsor Chevron announced Tuesday U.S. time.

Eleven previous champions, including Korea’s Ko Jin-young and Ryu So-yeon, are among those vying for this year’s crown. This year’s winner will get $1.2 million, up from last year’s $780,000 to No. 2 Lilia Vu of the United States.

Ko, a former world No. 1 and the current highest-ranked Korean golfer, won her title in 2019, carding a 10-under-par, 278, at Dinah Shore in Rancho Mirage, California, the tournament’s longtime home as the ANA Inspiration before moving to Texas under its new title sponsor, Chevron, in 2023. She edged out fellow Korean golfer Lee Mi-hyang by three strokes to win her first-ever major before winning her second — the Evian Championship — three months later.

Ryu, also a former world No. 1, took the title at Dinah Shore in 2017 with a 14-under-par, 274, after beating the United States’ Lexi Thompson in the first playoff round. She earlier edged out Korean hall-of-famer Park In-bee, who finished one stroke behind in tied third. It was Ryu’s second major win — after the U.S. Women’s Open in 2011, the year before she made her Tour debut.

This weekend’s LPGA tournament is set to be Ryu’s last. The 33-year-old golfer in March announced that she plans to retire after the Chevron Championship.

“I am so grateful that I could do what I loved to do, day in and day out, and even make a career out of it,” Ryu said in a handwritten note posted to Instagram. “I am not going to lie; I had some hard patches, but despite some of the challenges, I truly enjoyed it all.”

Korea's Ryu So-yeon watches her tee shot on the fifth hole during the second round of the Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods on April 21, 2023 in The Woodlands, Texas. [AP/YONHAP]

Ryu, with six career victories, last competed at the 2023 BMW Ladies Championship, Korea’s sole LPGA event, where she finished tied for 68th.

Five other Korean golfers joining this weekend’s Chevron crowd have also been crowned major champions.

Three-time major champion Chun In-gee, along with two-time major winner Shin Ji-yai and one-time major champions Kim A-lim, Lee Jeong-eun6, Ji Eun-hee, Kim Hyo-joo and Kim Sei-young, are each vying for their first Chevron win.

Last year’s Chevron was particularly memorable for Chun, who made her first-ever LPGA hole-in-one on the 17th hole during the third round, winning $1 million for charity.

Also in the field representing Korea with titles to their name are Ryu Hae-ran, the 2023 Rookie of the Year, Amy Yang, the 2023 CME Group Tour champion, and Jenny Shin, Lee Mi-hyang and Park Hee-young. All have yet to win a major.

Choi Hye-jin and An Na-rin, who made their LPGA debuts in 2022, have still to win their first Tour titles, as do 2024 rookies Sung Yu-jin, Im Jin-hee and Lee So-mi.

Bang Shin-sil, who plays on the KLPGA Tour, is the only Korean golfer competing at the Chevron without an LPGA Tour card.

Just half of the packed field will make the 36-hole cut, with only those in the top 60 earning the chance to play all four rounds.

But this year especially, it still pays to play. Those who miss the cut will get $10,000 for showing up, up from $5,000 last year, to help cover tournament expenses, the LPGA and Chevron said in a press release Tuesday.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States, who has won four straight starts, will look to make it five as Vu vies to defend her title and win her first tournament of the year.

It’s set to be a hot weekend in The Woodlands, with temperatures reaching 31 degrees Celsius (87 degrees Fahrenheit) and rain expected over the final two rounds.

A Korean golfer has yet to win a title on the LPGA Tour this year.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]