BMW Ladies Championship returns to Pine Beach for sixth edition on 22-25 October 2026
The sixth BMW Ladies Championship, the only LPGA Tour event in South Korea, will be played at Pine Beach Golf Links near Gwangju from 22 to 25 October 2026.
- 22-25 October 2026
- 68 golfers
- 15 golfers
- Up to 8
What Happened
The sixth BMW Ladies Championship will take place from 22 to 25 October 2026 at Pine Beach Golf Links near Gwangju, in southwest South Korea. It is the only LPGA Tour event in South Korea and is organized by BMW Group Korea. The course combines the front nine holes of the Pine Course with the back nine of the Beach Course, including many holes along the coast. Golf is hugely popular in South Korea, and many of the country's golfers are among the best in the world.
- Defending champion Sei Young Kim (KOR), ranked No. 9 in the world, returns to defend her title.
- Top-ten challengers include Haeran Ryu (KOR, No. 3), Hyo Joo Kim (KOR, No. 4) and Lottie Woad (ENG, No. 7).
- Minjee Lee (AUS, No. 16) is another former BMW Ladies Champion, having won in 2023.
- Esther Henseleit (GER), an Olympic silver medallist, is the only German in the field.
- The 68-strong field includes 15 golfers from the Korean LPGA.
- Players compete over the full four rounds, as there is no cut at the BMW Ladies Championship.
“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.”
“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 inaugural BMW Ladies Championship is held at LPGA International Busan in southeast South Korea.
The second edition takes place at LPGA International Busan, two years after the inaugural event.
The tournament is played at Oak Valley Country Club in northern South Korea; two Hole-in-One Awards are won on the same day.
Seowon Valley Country Club, about an hour's drive from Seoul, hosts the event.
Pine Beach Golf Links in the southwest hosts the tournament, including the 2026 edition on 22-25 October; the event returns as it was last year.
- Two Hole-in-One Awards are available, and all players have up to eight attempts to win one.
- The first player to ace the 13th hole wins the new BMW i7.
- The first hole-in-one on the 15th hole wins the BMW iX3, the first model in the Neue Klasse.
- Four players have earned a Hole-in-One Vehicle in the history of the BMW Ladies Championship.
- Kristen Gillman (USA) was the first, winning a BMW 740Li XDrive at the inaugural event in 2019.
- In 2022, Na Yeon Choi (KOR) won a BMW X7 xDrive40i and Ariya Jutanugarn (THA) won a BMW 740i on the same day; last year, Lucy Li (USA) won a BMW i7 eDrive50 in the opening round.
BMW has been a partner of global golf for almost four decades, at both amateur and professional levels, and is a title partner of prestigious golf events on four continents. It has hosted the BMW International Open in Munich since 1989, supported the BMW PGA Championship in London since 2005, and backed the BMW Australian PGA Championship. In the USA, BMW has been title partner of the BMW Championship since 2007; the tournament began in 1899 as the Western Open, is now the penultimate event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs, and has been named PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year six times. BMW has also organized the BMW Golf Cup since 1987, an international amateur series whose players can qualify for the World Final through more than 800 qualifying tournaments worldwide.
Why this matters
The tournament gives South Korean golf fans a chance to see a world-class LPGA field at home, and it is organized by BMW Group Korea as part of BMW's long-running global golf sponsorship. The event also promotes BMW's electric models, with the new BMW i7 and the all-electric BMW iX3 offered as hole-in-one prizes. Defending champion Sei Young Kim and other top-ranked players are affected as competitors, while fans and BMW's brand in South Korea are the main audiences.
Terms in This Story
- LPGA
- Ladies Professional Golf Association, the main professional golf tour for women, with events in the United States and internationally.
- Hole-in-one
- A score of one stroke on a hole, usually made from the tee.
- No cut
- A tournament format in which all players continue through all rounds, with no players eliminated after the opening rounds.
- Solheim Cup
- A biennial team competition in women's professional golf between teams from Europe and the United States.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.