The LPGA Tour is in the Republic of Korea this week for the fifth edition of the BMW Ladies Championship, which is being held for the second year at the Seowon Hills Course at Seowon Valley Country Club. Seventeen of this season’s winners are in the field, including three-time 2024 champion and 2022 BMW Ladies Championship winner Lydia Ko, Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 2 Lilia Vu and KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner Amy Yang. Defending champion Minjee Lee is also set to compete, as is her fellow Australian Hannah Green, who is one of four athletes to have captured multiple LPGA Tour victories this season. A share of a $2.2 million purse is up for grabs and so are 500 points in the Race to the CME Globe, points that are now incredibly valuable for those players looking to make a move in the season-long standings.

Take a look at just a few of the featured groups this week at the BMW Ladies Championship using data provided by KPMG Performance Insights:

Thursday, 9:38 a.m. – Pajaree Anannarukarn/Lauren Coughlin/Brooke Henderson

Pajaree Anannarukarn has played in three prior editions of the BMW Ladies Championship, tying for 22nd twice in 2021 and 2023 and then tying for 36th in 2022 at Oak Valley Country Club. This week is her 24th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in her 23 previous events, the Thailand native has collected three top-10 finishes – tying for seventh at the Cognizant Founders Cup, coming solo sixth at The Amundi Evian Championship and then tying for 10th at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews. Anannarukarn has five additional top-20 results on her 2024 resume, the best of which are a pair of T13s that came at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore and the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio. The 25-year-old has won twice since joining the LPGA Tour in 2019, capturing the ISPS Handa World Invitational title in 2021 and winning the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards in May of 2023, and will continue her search for that elusive third career LPGA Tour victory this week in the Republic of Korea.

The 2024 LPGA Tour season has been incredibly good to Lauren Coughlin. She became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the CPKC Women’s Open in Canada and then won again 21 days later at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, two victories that helped her secure a spot on her first U.S. Solheim Cup Team. This year’s Solheim Cup was played at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Coughlin’s home state of Virginia, and she was one of four Americans to go undefeated en route to the U.S. Team’s first Solheim Cup victory since 2017. In addition to her two wins, the now 32-year-old has collected six other top-10 finishes this year, two of which came at major championships when Coughlin tied for third at The Chevron Championship and then finished solo fourth at The Amundi Evian Championship. Her most recent top 10 came at the FM Championship at TPC Boston a month and a half ago, where Coughlin tied for 10th. According to KPMG Performance Insights, the Rolex Rankings No. 15 is gaining shots in nearly every major strokes gained category in 2024, most notably ranking sixth in strokes gained total (+1.71). She is one of only three players to be inside the top 20 on Tour in both strokes gained tee to green and strokes gained putting, ranking 16th and 17th in those two metrics, respectively. Coughlin is also ranked 21st in strokes gained driving (+0.46) and 23rd strokes gained approach (+0.65), additionally ranking third in rounds in the 60s (29), fifth in birdies (275) and sixth in scoring average (70.42). This week marks Coughlin’s third time competing in the BMW Ladies Championship, and in her two previous starts, she tied for 30th in 2022 and tied for 10th in 2023.

Brooke Henderson is making her first LPGA Tour start since missing the cut at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews in late August this week in the Republic of Korea. She has teed it up in two previous editions of the BMW Ladies Championship, tying for 38th in 2019 and tying for 22nd in 2023, two finishes the Canadian will be working to improve upon this week at Seowon Valley Country Club. This is her 20th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in her 19 prior tournaments, the 27-year-old has earned seven top-10 results, three of which were T3 or better finishes at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions (3), the HSBC Women’s World Championship (T3) and The Chevron Championship (T3). Her most recent top 10 was a tie for eighth that came at the CPKC Women’s Open in her home country at Earl Grey Golf Club. According to KPMG Performance Insights, Henderson is picking up shots in every major strokes gained metric on the LPGA Tour this season. She most notably ranks in the top 25 on Tour in strokes gained driving (12, +0.56), strokes gained total (18, +1.26) and strokes gained tee to green (21, +0.96). Henderson is also tied for 11th in rounds in the 60s (23), ranked 14th in par-4 scoring (4.03), ranked 15th in par-5 scoring (4.64) and 16th in bogey avoidance (15.15%).

Thursday, 10:11 a.m. – Amy Yang/Ruoning Yin/Jeeno Thitikul

Republic of Korea native Amy Yang is making her fifth start in the BMW Ladies Championship this week, having played in all four previous editions of the event. Her best result in her home country’s annual tournament is a solo third that came in back in 2019, a finish that Yang will be looking to improve upon at Seowon Valley Country Club. She is making her 19th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season in Korea, and in her 18 prior tournaments, Yang picked up her first-ever major victory at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, winning by three shots over Lilia Vu in Sammamish, Wash. That win is her only top-10 result of the year, but the 35-year-old has earned three other top-25 finishes – tying for 22nd at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, tying for 23rd at the Honda LPGA Thailand and tying for 25th at the FM Championship in Norton, Mass. Statistically, Yang is gaining shots in five major strokes gained categories so far this season, but she is only ranked as high as 45th in those categories, doing so in strokes gained approach (+0.30), according to KPMG Performance Insights.

Ruoning Yin became the first player from the People’s Republic of China to win the Buick LPGA Shanghai in her home country last week at Qizhong Garden Golf Club in Shanghai. The victory was her fourth career LPGA Tour title and second win of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, as Yin had also won the Dow Championship back in June alongside Jeeno Thitikul, one of her first-round groupmates at this week’s BMW Ladies Championship. This is just her second start ever in this event, and Yin will be looking to better her T41 showing in her tournament debut in 2023 this year at Seowon Valley Country Club. The BMW Ladies Championship is Yin’s 17th tournament this season, and along with her two victories, she has collected three other top-10 results, the best of which is a tie for second that came at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews. Yin has also earned six other top-25 results, three of which came in major championships at The Chevron Championship (T23), the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally (T12) and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (T24). Looking at data provided by KPMG Performance Insights, the 22-year-old is ranked in the top 15 of four strokes gained categories, including strokes gained tee to green (5, +1.47), strokes gained approach (5, +1.08), strokes gained total (13, +1.43) and strokes gained driving (13, +0.55). The Rolex Rankings No. 4 is also 10th in bogey avoidance (14.65%) and 13th in scoring average (70.71).

This is Jeeno Thitikul’s third time teeing it up in the BMW Ladies Championship, and in her previous two appearances, the Thailand native finished sixth in 2022 in her tournament debut and then tied for fifth last year at the Seowon Hills Course at Seowon Valley Country Club. She is making just her 15th start of the 2024 season this week in the Republic of Korea, as the beginning of her year was delayed a bit as Thitikul dealt with a thumb injury, and in addition to her win at the Dow Championship with Ruoning Yin, the 21-year-old has racked up eight other top-10 finishes. Four of those results came consecutively from May to June as Thitikul tied for seventh at the Mizuho Americas Open, tied for sixth at the U.S. Women’s Open, finished solo fourth at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer and then tied for eighth at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. She has then earned four more top-10 finishes in her last four LPGA Tour starts, a slate of performances that includes a tie for fourth at the FM Championship, a solo second at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, a tie for seventh at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G and a tie for fifth at last week’s Buick LPGA Shanghai. According to KPMG Performance Insights, in those last four events, Thitikul is a combined 59-under par and has carded 13 of 15 rounds in the 60s with a scoring average of 67.9. She currently ranks in the top 25 of five strokes gained categories on the LPGA Tour this season, most notably ranking second in strokes gained total (+2.17) and fifth in strokes gained putting (+0.96). Thitikul also ranks 18th in strokes gained tee to green (+1.01), 20th in strokes gained approach (+0.69) and 22nd in strokes gained driving (+0.45).

Thursday, 10:22 a.m. – Lydia Ko/Minjee Lee/Haeran Ryu

Two past champions and the 2023 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year comprise group 25 at the BMW Ladies Championship. Lydia Ko won the event in 2022, defeating Andrea Lee by four shots with a four-day total of 21-under at the tournament’s then-venue, Oak Valley Country Club. It was one of three victories that Ko captured that season, as she won the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio early in the year and then also took home the CME Group Tour Championship title in November. That third and final victory helped Ko secure Rolex Player of the Year honors, win the Race to the CME Globe and earn the Vare Trophy at the conclusion of the 2022 season. In addition to her win, the New Zealand native has collected three other top-25 results at the BMW Ladies Championship, tying for 21st in 2019, tying for third in 2021 and finishing solo third last season at Seowon Valley Country Club. This week marks Ko’s 18th start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in her 17 previous events, she has racked up three victories at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews and the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, as well as four additional top-10 finishes. Ko also secured her place in the LPGA Hall of Fame after winning gold in the women’s golf competition at the Paris Olympics in August. According to KPMG Performance Insights, Ko is a combined 52-under at the BMW Ladies Championship over the last three years, 11 shots better than her next closest competitor. She is currently ranked in the top 30 on the LPGA Tour in five major strokes gained categories this season, most notably sitting at fourth in strokes gained total (+1.91) and eighth in strokes gained around the green (+0.39). Ko is also ranked second in both bogey-free rounds (10) and bogey avoidance (13.18 %) so far this year, additionally ranking fourth in scrambling (64.76%). The BMW Ladies Championship is Ko’s first LPGA Tour appearance since she won in back-to-back starts at the AIG Women’s Open and the Kroger Queen City Championship, and she will be looking to pick up a fourth 2024 victory, something she hasn’t done since she won four times during the 2016 season.

Minjee Lee outlasted Alison Lee in a playoff at the Seowon Hills Course at Seowon Valley Country Club last year to capture her 10th career LPGA Tour title and second win of the 2023 season. The victory made Lee just the third player ever from Australia to reach double-digit victories on Tour, putting her in the esteemed company of Karrie Webb (41) and Jan Stephenson (16). Lee hasn’t won on Tour since her triumph in the Republic of Korea last October, but she has come close a few times this year, earning four top-10 finishes in her 17 total starts ahead of this week, most notably tying for ninth at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Lancaster Country Club. Her most recent top-10 result came last week at the Buick LPGA Shanghai in the People’s Republic of China, where the 28-year-old finished solo eighth. Statistically, Lee ranked first on the LPGA Tour in both strokes gained approach (+1.75) and strokes gained tee to green (+1.88), according to KPMG Performance Insights. She is additionally tied for first in proximity to the hole from 125-150 yards, tied for second in proximity to the hole from 150-175 yards and is ranked 15th in greens in regulation percentage (72.22%). This is her fifth time teeing it up at the BMW Ladies Championship, and along with her victory in 2023, Lee has earned two other top-20 results in this tournament, tying for 16th in 2019 and tying for 12th in 2021.

Last year’s Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, Haeran Ryu, rounds out the 10:22 a.m. grouping in the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship. The 23-year-old picked up her second career LPGA Tour title earlier this season at the FM Championship after defeating Jin Young Ko in a one-hole playoff at TPC Boston on September 1. It made 2024 her second consecutive winning season on the LPGA Tour, as Ryu became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G in 2023. Currently sitting at ninth in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, the Republic of Korea native has collected nine other top-10 results so far this season, the most significant of which are a pair of solo fifths she earned at The Chevron Championship and The Amundi Evian Championship, as well as a tie for ninth that Ryu recorded at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club. Ryu is making her third career start in the BMW Ladies Championship this week, and in her two previous appearances, she tied for seventh in 2021 as a non-member and then tied for 16th in 2023 as an LPGA Tour rookie. Looking at data provided by KPMG Performance Insights, Ryu is ranked in the top 12 of four strokes gained categories on the LPGA Tour this season. She is ranked second in both strokes gained tee to green (+1.75) and strokes gained approach (+1.40), also ranking fifth in strokes gained total (+1.76) and 11th in strokes gained driving (+0.58). Ryu also leads the Tour in strokes gained ball-striking (+1.99), a metric that combines her strokes gained performance off the tee and on approach.

*All times local

Featured Groups: 2024 BMW Ladies Championship

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