Ji Yeong2 Kim, Mi Jung Hur, Yu Liu
8:44 a.m. – 10th Tee
Already a two-time winner in 2019, Mi Jung Hur returns home to the Republic of Korea for the inaugural BMW Ladies Championship. Hur, whose husband is from Busan and in-laws still call the area home, will have the gallery on her side as she looks to record her third win of the season. Thursday, the No. 22 ranked player in the Rolex Rankings will play alongside Yu Liu and the KLPGA’s Ji Yeong2 Kim. Last week, Liu took advantage of a rare opportunity to play at home in the People’s Republic of China where she finished third. The No. 33-ranked player in the world has recorded seven top 10s in 2019 but remains in search of her first win on the LPGA Tour. Kim is looking to continue to ride the momentum she’s found in recent weeks on the KLPGA as she has three top 4 finishes in her last four starts.
Da Yeon Lee, Nicole Broch Larsen, Nelly Korda
9:06 a.m. – 10th Tee
Nicole Broch Larsen is coming off a 20th-place finish last week in Shanghai. The No. 91-ranked player in the world will try and continue her strong performance in the second half of the season with another solid finish in Korea where she’s looking to pick up her first win on Tour. She will play Thursday’s round alongside Nelly Korda, who is enjoying a career best season on the LPGA Tour with two worldwide wins and nine top 10s on the LPGA Tour, including a T9 last week in Shanghai. Another solid finish this week in Korea would be a nice springboard to next week’s event in Chinese Taipei where she is defending champion. The KLPGA’s Da Yeon Lee is the third member of this group and is already a two-time winner on the KLPGA in 2019.
Jeongeun Lee6, Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson
10:12 a.m. – 1st Tee
Three major champions will play together Thursday in Korea. Jeongeun Lee6, the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open champion, returns home to Korea for the BMW Ladies Championship. The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year has an opportunity also clinch the Rolex Player of the Year award. To continue her chance of winning the award at season’s end, Lee6 would need to win on Sunday and have Jin Young Ko, the current frontrunner for the award, finish seventh or worse. Thursday, Lee6 will play alongside two-time major champion Ariya Jutanugarn and KPMG Women’s PGA Champion Brooke Henderson. Jutanugarn is coming off her ninth top 10 of the season last week in Shanghai where she finished seventh. As Jutanugarn nears the
closing stretch of the season she’s looking to pick up her first victory of the season and continue her winning streak, which includes victories in 2016, 2017 and 2018 on the LPGA Tour. Like Jutanugarn, Henderson also notched a top 10 finish last week in Shanghai and will look to add a third victory to her resume this season with a victory in Korea.
Danielle Kang, Hye-Jin Choi, Jin Young Ko
10:23 a.m. – 1st Tee
Fresh off a successful title defense at last week’s Buick LPGA Shanghai, Danielle Kang will try to build on that momentum this week in Busan, a town with a special connection to her family. Danielle’s father was from Busan and she spent part of her childhood in the region. The three-time LPGA tour winner will play alongside Hye-Jin Choi, who is also from Busan, and Rolex Rankings No. 1, Jin Young Ko. Choi has enjoyed an incredible run on the KLPGA in 2019 with four victories so far this season. Ko has enjoyed success of her own this season on the LPGA Tour, where she has four victories of her own, including two major titles. This weekend, Ko has a lot more to play for than just another title. She can secure the Rolex Rookie of the Year award on Sunday by finishing sixth or better.