The World's Top Stars Set to Shine in Haenam and Cheonan Next Week

The Genesis Championship and BMW Ladies Championship set to begin
The Open champion Fox, Sungjae Im and Siwoo Kim set to compete
Haeran Ryu, Seyoung Kim, Gyolim Seo and Minsol Kim vie for the title

Some of the world's top stars will take to the course in Cheonan and Haenam. The DP World Tour and the LPGA Tour announced on the 15th the player fields for their tournaments taking place in South Korea next week.

The Genesis Championship, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Korea Professional Golfers' Association (KPGA) Tour, will be held over four days starting on the 22nd at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. The field includes major champions and Korea's top players. Launched in 2017, the tournament marks its 10th anniversary this year. It is the largest international professional golf tournament in South Korea. The winner will receive $680,000 (about 900 million won), a Genesis vehicle, and eligibility to compete on the KPGA Tour and DP World Tour in 2027 and 2028.

The Open champion Ryan Fox will compete in the Genesis Championship in Korea. AFP-Yonhap News

The most notable entrant is Ryan Fox of New Zealand, who won this year's Open, a major championship on the PGA Tour. At the Open, which concluded in July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in England, Fox defeated Cameron Young of the United States by one stroke to claim his first major title.

Fox has three career PGA Tour victories and is ranked No. 22 in the world. He is also familiar to Korean fans: in 2015, he finished runner-up after playing in the final-day leading group at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open. The winner that year was Mun Kyungjun. "It feels even more special to return to Korea as a major champion after 11 years," Fox said.

PGA Tour members Siwoo Kim and Sungjae Im are also in the field. Kim has four career PGA Tour victories. Ranked No. 14 in the world, he is the highest-ranked player from Korea and Asia. Although he has not won this year, he has finished in the top 10 11 times on the PGA Tour, including three runner-up finishes. Kim, who tied for 21st at last year's tournament, said, "I look forward to meeting the fans again this year and putting on a good performance."

Im, a two-time PGA Tour winner, will return to his home country for the first time in six months. His last appearance in a KPGA Tour event was at the Woori Financial Championship in April, six months ago. Im made his tournament debut in 2019 and won, tied for second in his second appearance in 2023, and tied for 42nd in his third appearance last year. "I will get plenty of rest and practice over the remaining period so I can put in a performance I won't regret," Im said.

"Major Queen" Yoo Hae-ran will vie for victory at the BMW Ladies Championship, held in South Korea. AFP-Yonhap News.

In Haenam, stars who dominate women's golf around the world will also showcase their skills. The BMW Ladies Championship, an LPGA Tour event with a total purse of $3.2 million, will be held at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. The field will feature some of the LPGA Tour's top players, including defending champion Seyoung Kim, "Major Queen" Haeran Ryu, Hyojoo Kim, who has won twice this year, and 11-time winner Minjee Lee of Australia.

This year, 15 players from the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour will also compete. Gyolim Seo and Minsol Kim, who are vying for titles in points, prize money, number of wins, and scoring average, will seek victory. Although they are not LPGA Tour members, a win at this tournament would earn them a spot in next year's LPGA Tour season.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.