South Korea welcomes the sixth BMW Ladies Championship.

• BMW Ladies Championship returns to Pine Beach Golf Links next week
• BMW Group Korea organises the only LPGA event in South Korea, featuring a world-class field
• All-electric BMW iX3 and BMW i7 are the 2026 Hole-in-One Vehicles
• Quotes from defending champion Sei Young Kim (KOR) and Solheim Cup winner Esther Henseleit (GER)

Gwangju/Munich. Golf is hugely popular in South Korea, and many of the country’s golfers have established themselves among the best in the world. As such, there is great anticipation ahead of the sixth edition of the BMW Ladies Championship, which takes place from 22nd to 25th October 2026. The only tournament on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour in South Korea will, as it was last year, be played at Pine Beach Golf Links near Gwangju, in the southwest of the country. The facility allows a spectacular layout, consisting of the front nine holes from the Pine Course and the back nine from the Beach Course, including many holes right on the coast.

Last year’s winner, Sei Young Kim (KOR), is back to defend her title: “Winning the BMW Ladies Championship in my homeland was a wonderful feeling, and one that I hope to repeat. I will do my best, although competition at this event is unbelievably strong. That speaks volumes of the quality of the BMW Ladies Championship, which boasts one of the highest quality fields on the LPGA outside the USA. Whatever happens, I am really looking forward to my home tournament, the South Korean fans, and a week that is truly extraordinary, thanks to BMW.”

The defending champion, currently ranked number nine in the world, will have to overcome a further three top-ten players if she is to successfully defend her title: Haeran Ryu (KOR, No. 3) Hyo Joo Kim (KOR, No. 4) and Lottie Woad (ENG, No. 7). Also teeing off will be Australian Minjee Lee (No. 16), another former BMW Ladies Champion, who won the tournament in 2023.

The only German in the field is Olympic silver medallist Esther Henseleit. The 27-year-old is also excited about the tournament: “I always very much look forward to playing at the BMW Ladies Championship. The organisation, set-up and quality of the tournament are excellent, as we have become accustomed to at BMW golf events for decades. Unfortunately, that is not always the case for us ladies, which makes us appreciate this tournament all the more. As a player, you feel particularly welcome and at home here. Plus, I really enjoy playing in South Korea. The fans are an experience, and with so many Korean players on the Tour, there is a special atmosphere at the BMW Ladies Championship – that all makes it a real pleasure.”

The 68-strong field also includes 15 golfers from the Korean LPGA, who will go up against the best in the world for the full four rounds: there is no cut at the BMW Ladies Championship.

This also means that all players have up to eight attempts to win one of the two Hole-in-One Awards, and with it the joy of all-electric driving. The first player to ace the 13th hole will receive the new BMW i7. The first hole-in-one on the 15th will be rewarded with the first model in the Neue Klasse, the BMW iX3.

In the history of the BMW Ladies Championship, four players have earned a Hole-in-One Vehicle. The first to do so was Kristen Gillman during the inaugural event in 2019. The American hit the first ace of her professional career to win a BMW 740Li XDrive. At the 2022 BMW Ladies Championship, fans celebrated two Hole-in-One Awards being won on the same day: Na Yeon Choi from South Korea won a BMW X7 xDrive40i, while Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn headed home with a BMW 740i. Last year, Lucy Li from the USA won a BMW i7 eDrive50 in the opening round.

The inaugural BMW Ladies Championship took place in 2019 at LPGA International Busan in the southeast of the country, and the same venue hosted the second edition of the event two years later. In 2022, the golfers teed off at Oak Valley Country Club in the north of South Korea. The Seowon Valley Country Club, roughly an hour’s drive from the capital Seoul, hosted the tournament in 2023 and 2024. Since then, the tournament has been played at Pine Beach Golf Links in the southwest of the country. The advantage of changing venue is that the organisers, BMW Group Korea, can present the world-class golfers to the many golf fans all over the country.

The BMW Golfsport Engagement.

For almost four decades, BMW has played a leading role as a reliable partner of global golf – both at the amateur and professional levels. As title partner of prestigious golf events, BMW is active on four continents. Since 1989, the premium automobile manufacturer has hosted the iconic BMW International Open (DP World Tour) in its hometown of Munich, Germany. The BMW PGA Championship in London, UK – the flagship event of the DP World Tour – has, with BMW’s support since 2005, developed into a “Festival of Golf” and a highlight of the British sporting calendar. With the BMW Australian PGA Championship the company supports another prestigious tournament, which is rich in tradition. In the USA, BMW has been the title partner of the BMW Championship since 2007. First played in 1899 as the Western Open, this tournament is now the penultimate playoff event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs and one of the most competitive golf tournaments worldwide. It has been named PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year six times.

On the world’s most important women’s tour, BMW has hosted the BMW Ladies Championship – the only LPGA Tour event in South Korea – since 2019. BMW has also been organizing the BMW Golf Cup since 1987, the largest international tournament series for amateur players, who can qualify for the international World Final at more than 800 qualifying tournaments worldwide.