BMW Ladies Championship 2024 Preview: South Korea welcomes the LPGA Tour for the second event of the Asian Swing

BMW Ladies Championship 2024

The second Asian Swing on the LPGA Tour’s record-breaking 2024 schedule continues in South Korea with the BMW Ladies Championship

The LPGA Tour is nearing its conclusion at the CME Group Tour Championship at the end of November. The 30th event on the record-breaking schedule is the BMW Ladies Championship, which is being played at Seowon Hills in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

On the outskirts of Seoul – the country’s capital city – the best players in the world will continue to battle for those all-important CME points as the Tour Championship approaches.

We’re well and truly at the business end of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, with only five events (including this one) left before the top 60 players and ties in the Race To CME Globe Rankings will tee it up at the CME Group Tour Championship.

Every golfer in the field will benefit from the maximum 500 CME points available this week to help propel them up the rankings or secure their position in the top 60 and ties.

The BMW Ladies Championship is the first of two co-sanctioned events with the LPGA of Korea Tour. The second is the TOTO Japan Classic which starts at the end of October.

The LPGA Tour first traveled to South Korea in 1995 for the Samsung World Championship of Women’s Golf. That tournament ran for three seasons before it was removed from the schedule in 1998. After three years, South Korea once again had an LPGA Tour event to host, and from 2001 onwards the Tour has visited the Asian country every year – except for 2020 when the BMW Ladies Championship was canceled because of COVID-19.

Who is playing in the BMW Ladies Championship?

The field has been blown wide open after the world No.1 and CME points leader, Nelly Korda, withdrew over the weekend. Korda hasn’t played since a T5 finish at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G.

The home crowd has a whole bunch of names to cheer for with nineteen South Korean golfers in the field this week, including Haeran Ryu, Jiyai Shin, Hyo Joo Kim, Sei Young Kim, and world No.8 Amy Yang.

Eight of the top 10 golfers in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings are making their way to South Korea to play in the BMW Ladies Championship. The only two names missing from the world’s top 10 this week are home hero, Jin Young Ko, who hasn’t played since losing in a playoff to Haeran Ryu at the FM Championship at the end of August and the most dominant golfer in the world, Nelly Korda.

The 2023 champion and world No.16, Minjee Lee, is in South Korea aiming to defend her title, but it won’t be easy with such a star-studded field confirmed.

What is the format of the BMW Ladies Championship?

It is a standard strokeplay event played over 72 holes with a cut after 36 holes (two rounds) that sees the leading 65 players and ties make the final two rounds. The player who achieves the lowest score over four rounds will win the tournament.

Where is the BMW Ladies Championship being played?

The BMW Ladies Championship is being played at Seowon Valley Country Club, Paju-Si, Gyeonggi-do. Seowon Valley Country Club is situated less than an hour to the north of Seoul, the South Korean capital.

The tournament is played on the Seowon Hills course which first opened in 2004 with a nine-hole golf course, and an 18-hole golf course was added in 2012. Seowon Hills first hosted the BMW Ladies Championship in 2023.

The course played for the BMW Ladies Championship at Seowon Valley Country Club measures 6,680 yards and it’s played as a par 72.

Who will win the BMW Ladies Championship?

Selected odds (correct 14 Oct, 10.00):

Jeeno Thitikul 10/1

Lydia Ko 10/1

Ruoning Yin 11/1

Ayaka Furue 14/1

Haeran Ryu 16/1

Mao Saigo 16/1

Sei Young Kim 22/1

Minjee Lee 28/1

Hyo Joo Kim 40/1

How much will the winner of the BMW Ladies Championship receive?

The purse on offer this week is $2.2m, which is the same figure as it was in 2023. The purse did rise by 10% from 2022 to 2023. Prize money arguably isn’t the biggest prize on offer this week, for most of the golfers it will be the Race to CME Globe points. The winner will receive 500 CME points along with $330,000.

How to watch the BMW Ladies Championship

Viewers in the UK can watch the Black Desert Championship on Sky Sports Golf.

All times BST

Thursday, 17 October: Sky Sports Golf, 06.00

Friday, 18 October: Sky Sports Golf, 06.00

Saturday, 19 October: Sky Sports Golf, 06.00

Sunday, 20 October: Sky Sports Golf, 06.00

US viewers can catch all the action on Golf Channel

All times EST

Wednesday, October 16: The Golf Channel, 23.00

Thursday, October 17: The Golf Channel, 23.00

Friday, October 18: The Golf Channel, 23.00

Saturday, October 19: The Golf Channel, 23.00

The BMW Ladies Championship Tee Times

Tee time information for the BMW Ladies Championship can be viewed here.

About the author

James Hogg – Golf Equipment Writer

James has a degree in English Language from Newcastle University and an MA in Journalism from Kingston University.

He spent seven years working for American Golf as part of the sales and fitting team alongside his studies and is a specialist in putters, golf balls, and apparel.

James took up golf as a teenager and, thanks largely to his length and consistency off the tee, he plays off a handicap of 4.7 at Cleveland Golf Club.

You can contact James via email for loads more golf equipment insight.