The LPGA Tour returns to action with the Buick LPGA Shanghai, which kicks off four consecutive weeks of competition across Asia. Each of the four tournaments features a limited, no-cut field, which gives players a chance to make up ground in the season-long races – Rolex Player of the Year, Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, the Race to the CME Globe, AON Risk Reward Challenge, Vare Trophy and Money Title. Here are the things to know about this week’s LPGA Tour stop in the People’s Republic of China.

Angel Yin Defends

In her 159th start on the LPGA Tour, Angel Yin earned her much-anticipated maiden victory at the Buick LPGA Shanghai in 2023. Yin, who is one of the biggest characters on the LPGA Tour, won in thrilling fashion after a playoff victory over the then-ranked Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Lilia Vu. Yin held a share of the 54-hole lead and birdied her final two holes in regulation to force a playoff with Vu, promptly defeating her on the first playoff hole. Yin has played a limited schedule this season as she dealt with an ankle injury at the beginning of the year, but she has still managed to record three top 10s in 14 LPGA Tour starts. She comes into this week’s title defense in solid form as she picked up a T10 finish on Sunday at the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series – Shenzhen, which was also played in China.

Players Took Advantage of LET Tune-Up

Yin wasn’t the only player teeing it up last week on the Ladies European Tour, as nearly a dozen players from the LPGA Tour made an early trip to China to adjust to the time difference and get their games ready for the LPGA’s stop in Shanghai. It was Celine Boutier who emerged victorious on Sunday, as she earned her first worldwide victory of 2024 and sixth win on the LET. The return to the winner’s circle comes in the midst of a challenging year for the Frenchwoman, who enjoyed a career-best season in 2023 that saw her win four times, including her first major title at The Amundi Evian Championship. But plagued by putting problems this season, Boutier has just a single top 10 so far this year on the LPGA Tour. The 30-year-old will look to ride the momentum of her victory last week as she works to record another solid finish this week in Shanghai, where she tied for 63th in her most recent start in 2019.

People’s Republic of China Connections

Two dozen players from the People’s Republic of China are in the field this week for the Buick LPGA Shanghai. Perhaps the most notable player to tee it up this week in her home country is Xiyu Lin, who won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. She’s coming into this week’s event in form as well, as she finished runner-up last week to Boutier on the LET and has four more top-10 finishes this season on the LPGA Tour. Lin is returning to action in Shanghai, where she’ll make her first LPGA Tour start since missing the cut in August at the FM Championship in her adopted home of Boston.

Ruoning Yin has also played a limited schedule in recent months and is poised to make her first start this week on the LPGA Tour since finishing in a tie for second at the AIG Women’s Open in August. Prior to her trip to St Andrews, Yin last competed in June, winning alongside Jeeno Thitikul at the Dow Championship. Yin is coming off a top-10 finish last week on the LET and is currently tied with Lilia Vu at the top of the AON Risk Reward Challenge leaderboard. With Vu not in the field this week, Yin could make up some ground on the American with a strong performance on the par-5 17th hole, which is this week’s AON Risk Reward Challenge hole.

Other notable players from China who are teeing it up this week include Yu Liu, who has finished T3 twice at the Buick LPGA Shanghai in 2019 and 2023, and rookie Mary Liu, who is ranked 11th in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year point standings and is looking for a spark after missing the cut in her last three starts.

Danielle Kang Receives Exemption

Danielle Kang headlines a group of four players who were given sponsor invitations to compete this week at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. Also receiving invitations were Muni He, Menghan Li (a) and Zi Ge Wang. Kang is a two-time winner in the People’s Republic of China, where she successfully won back-to-back Buick LPGA Shanghai titles in 2018 and 2019. Kang also holds the 72-hole tournament scoring record at Qizhong Garden Golf Club (272) and finished in a tie for 17th in 2023. The invitation comes in the midst of what has been a challenging season for Kang, who has yet to record a top-10 finish this year on the LPGA Tour and has missed the cut in three of her last four starts. Kang could make up some critical ground in the Race to the CME Globe point standings with another victory in Shanghai as she looks to make a significant leap from No. 138 and inside the top 60 to earn a spot in the field at the CME Group Tour Championship at the end of the season.

Tournament Details

The Buick LPGA Shanghai was first played in 2018, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament is being staged for only the fourth time this year. The event was not held between 2020-2022 due to travel restrictions associated with the pandemic. Each year, the 72-hole tournament is played at Qizhong Garden Golf Club, where a limited field of 81 players will compete for a purse of $2.1 million. Due to the time difference, you can catch live coverage of each of the four rounds Wednesday - Saturday between 11 p.m. - 4 a.m. ET on Golf Channel.

Five Things to Know About the 2024 Buick LPGA Shanghai

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