S. Korean, U.S. women's golf tours reach agreement on local players' LPGA participation

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean and the U.S. women's golf tours jointly announced Wednesday they have reached an agreement on local players' participation in an LPGA tournament taking place here this fall.

The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) and the U.S.-based LPGA said they have agreed to allow 15 KLPGA Tour players to tee off at this year's BMW Ladies Championship, the lone U.S. LPGA event held in South Korea each fall. For the 2027 edition, 30 KLPGA members will compete at the BMW Ladies Championship.

On July 2, the KLPGA said its negotiations with the LPGA on the number of homegrown players in the BMW field had fallen through, with the South Korean side demanding 30 such players and its U.S. counterpart only ready to accept 10 KLPGA players.

However, the two tours said they resumed their talks "under the common objective of achieving our tours' mutual growth and sustainable development of Korean women's golf" and were able to find the middle ground.

"By signing a memorandum of understanding, we will work together to ensure thorough implementation of our agreements," the KLPGA said in a statement. "The two organizations engaged in various discussions based on mutual respect and trust, and will continue to remain in close contact to put together a successful tournament and to keep developing women's golf."

The tours said this year's field will feature 68 LPGA players, 15 KLPGA players and one player on a sponsor's exemption. In 2027, 108 players will compete -- with 74 LPGA members, 30 KLPGA members and four players who will be invited by sponsors -- and the tournament will have a 36-hole cut for the first time since its launch in 2019.

This year's BMW Ladies Championship is scheduled to take place from Oct. 22 to 25 at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul in South Jeolla Province.

South Korean veteran Kim Sei-young won the 2019 event.