Korean golfers aim for Shanghai glory in LPGA’s Asia swing opener

Choi Hye-jin will be looking to build on a run of top-10 finishes as she tees off at the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Thursday, joining seven other Korean golfers as they aim to become the third Korean to secure a victory in the 2024 LPGA season.

Choi Hye-jin plays her shot from the 10th tee during the third round of the CPKC Women's Open at Earl Grey Golf Club on July 27 in Calgary, Canada. [AFP/YONHAP]

Choi Hye-jin will be looking to build on a run of top-10 finishes this season as she tees off at the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Thursday, joining seven other Korean golfers as they aim to become the third Korean to secure a victory in the 2024 LPGA season.

The LPGA Shanghai marks the start of the 2024 LPGA Tour’s Asia swing, with stops in China, Korea, Malaysia and then Japan.

Choi comes into the tournament with four top-10 finishes this season, including a third-place finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand in February, her best result so far. A win in Shanghai would be her first since joining the Tour in 2022.

Amy Yang and Ryu Hae-ran, both LPGA title winners this season, will not be competing. The seven other Korean golfers in the field are Kim A-lim, Sung Yu-jin, Lee So-mi, Jeon Ji-won, Im Jin-hee, Kim Sei-young and Lee Mi-hyang.

Kim A-lim is chasing her first win since her 2020 U.S. Women’s Open title, with three top-10 finishes this season. A Korean victory in Shanghai would also be the first in the event's history, which has only seen American winners: Danielle Kang in 2018 and 2019 and Angel Yin in 2023. The tournament was canceled from 2020 to 2022.

Kim A-lim lines up a putt on the fourth green during the third round of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G 2024 at TPC River's Bend on Sept. 21 in Maineville, Ohio. [AFP/YONHAP]

Kang will be competing this week, though her season has been relatively quiet with no top-10 finishes and back-to-back missed cuts at the Kroger Queen City Championship and Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last month.

Defending champion Angel Yin returns in solid form, having made eight cuts and secured three top-10 finishes this season. Her 2023 LPGA Shanghai win remains her only LPGA title.

Although Paris Olympic gold medalist Lydia Ko is absent, the tournament will feature nine 2024 LPGA titleholders, including Hannah Green and Patty Tavatanakit.

The 81-player field will also include golfers from the CLPGA, as the LPGA Shanghai is co-sanctioned by both tours. The total prize purse is $2.1 million, with the winner taking home $315,000.

Following the LPGA Shanghai, the Tour will head to the BMW Ladies Championship in Paju, Korea, before concluding the Asia swing at the Toto Japan Classic on Nov. 3. The Tour will then return to the United States for the remainder of the 2024 season, wrapping up on Nov. 24.

Kim A-lim and Choi Hye-jin will be among the first to tee off on Thursday at 8:20 a.m. Kim will start from the first hole alongside Pajaree Anannarukarn and Kristen Gillman, while Choi tees off from the 10th hole with Ruixin Liu and Yealimi Noh.

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