Since its debut in 2019, the BMW Ladies Championship has become a highlight on South Korea’s sports calendar, especially as the nation’s only tournament on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.
Over 250,000 fans have attended the event so far. To bring world-class golfers closer to fans nationwide, the tournament, organized by BMW Korea, frequently changes its venue.
This year and next, it will be held at Pine Beach Golf Links near Gwangju in the southwest of the country.
The tournament will showcase a stunning layout, combining the Pine Course on the front nine and the Beach Course on the back nine, with many holes running along the coastline.
The Pine Course features pine forests and a lake, with the final three holes offering ocean views.
The Beach Course is designed along the natural coastline, providing a true links-style challenge with six holes on each course directly adjacent to the sea.
To clarify, Pine Beach Golf Links is a 27-hole seaside golf resort in Haenam-gun, South Korea, known for its striking coastal views and authentic links-style design.
Created by Gary Roger Baird and David Dale, the course features three 9-hole layouts—Pine, Beach, and Oceano—with numerous holes positioned on or near cliffs along the coast.
The compact field of 78 players will participate over the four-day duration of the event, as there is no cut applied at this competition.
This format guarantees a high-caliber field comprised of 68 world-class golfers, including the defending champion, Hannah Green from Australia.
Additionally, eight distinguished tournament invitees and two amateur players from Korea will also compete.
Notable participants include former champions Minjee Lee from Australia, ranked fourth in the world and the winner in 2023, and Jin Young Ko from Korea, the champion in 2021.
Representing Germany is Esther Henseleit, an Olympic silver medalist.
The prize purse for the BMW Ladies Championship has been augmented by $100,000 compared to the previous year, now totaling $2.3 million.
This figure is projected to increase to $2.6 million by the year 2029.
The prize of $2.3 million is slightly below the current winner’s payout of $2.4 million for the U.S. Women’s Open, thereby establishing it as one of the highest awards in the sport.
Additionally, players have the exceptional opportunity to win three Hole-in-One Vehicles.
The first player to score an ace on the par-3 holes 8, 13, and 15 will receive a model from the BMW Group.
At hole 8, the prize is the MINI John Cooper Works Countryman ALL4, the largest MINI model to date.
The electric luxury sedan BMW i7 is the Hole-in-One Award at hole 13, while the all-electric premium SAV BMW iX is the prize for hole 15.
BMW Ladies Championship history in South Korea
The BMW Ladies Championship made its debut in 2019 at LPGA International Busan in the southeast of the country, where the second edition was also held two years later.
In 2022, the tournament moved to Oak Valley Country Club in northern South Korea.
The Seowon Valley Country Club, located about an hour’s drive from the capital Seoul, hosted the tournaments in 2023 and 2024.