Quick Answer: The BMW Ladies Championship 2026 is an LPGA Tour event played from October 22 to 25, 2026, at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam-gun, South Korea. A field of 84 players will compete over 72 holes of stroke play for a $2.35 million purse. Sei Young Kim is the defending champion. It is the only regular LPGA Tour event held in South Korea.
Table of Contents
- Event Snapshot
- What Is the BMW Ladies Championship?
- Pine Beach Golf Links: The Course
- The 2026 Field: 84 Players
- Past Champions
- Prize Money Breakdown and Race to CME Globe Points
- Schedule and Time Zones
- How to Watch
- What to Watch For
- Season So Far
- What Comes Next
- Also on LankaSport This Week
- FAQ
- Related Articles
Event Snapshot
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Tournament | BMW Ladies Championship 2026 |
| Tour | LPGA Tour |
| Dates | Thursday, October 22 to Sunday, October 25, 2026 |
| Venue | Pine Beach Golf Links, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea |
| Format | 72-hole stroke play, no cut |
| Course | Par 72, 6,785 yards |
| Field | 84 players: 68 LPGA, 15 KLPGA, 1 invited player |
| Purse | $2,350,000 (winner's share about $352,500) |
| Host | BMW Korea |
| Defending champion | Sei Young Kim |
What Is the BMW Ladies Championship?
The BMW Ladies Championship is the LPGA Tour's only regular stop in South Korea. It is hosted by BMW Korea and sits in the autumn Asian part of the LPGA calendar.
The event became an LPGA tournament in 2019. Since then, it has moved between venues and drawn some of the best players in the world. Korea has a deep pool of talent in women's golf, so the home crowd always has someone to cheer for.
This year the event also matters for Korean golf for a second reason. In July 2026, the KLPGA and LPGA signed an agreement on how many KLPGA Tour players can enter. You can read the details in the field section below.
Pine Beach Golf Links: The Course
Pine Beach Golf Links is in Haenam-gun, in South Jeolla Province, in the south-west of South Korea. The course hosts the event for the second year in a row.
Last year's edition was the first regular LPGA Tour event held in the Honam region. It drew about 60,000 spectators over four days. The organizers also said that hotels, restaurants and tourist spots in Haenam and nearby areas saw a rise in business that week.
The signature hole at the venue is hole 6 on the Beach Course. It appears in the official photos released by the organizers, so expect to see it a lot on the broadcast.
Why the Course Matters for the Result
Playing the same course two years in a row helps in two ways:
- Players who competed here last year know where to hit the ball and where to miss it.
- Caddies and coaches already have notes on greens, lines and wind.
New players in the field will lean on practice rounds. If you follow the Wednesday practice reports, you will see which players feel comfortable early.
The course plays as a par 72 at 6,785 yards, according to the ESPN tournament page. Check the official tournament site for any set-up changes during the week.
The 2026 Field: 84 Players
The field has 84 players. The split is:
- 68 LPGA Tour players
- 15 KLPGA Tour players
- 1 invited player
The KLPGA and LPGA announced the deal on July 22, 2026. It gives 15 KLPGA Tour players entry this year. From 2027, that number goes up to 30. The 2027 field will be 108 players: 74 LPGA, 30 KLPGA and 4 invited.
The event has no cut, so all 84 players are expected to play four rounds. A cut will be introduced from 2027.
What This Means for Fans
More KLPGA players means more local stories. Korean fans will get to watch home-tour players test themselves against LPGA regulars. It also means the leaderboard can include names that do not usually appear in LPGA events.
The final field is set after the entry deadline in the week of the event. Check lpga.com for the confirmed entries.
Past Champions
Here are the winners confirmed in published reports:
| Year | Champion |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Jang Ha-na |
| 2021 | Ko Jin-young |
| 2023 | Minjee Lee |
| 2024 | Hannah Green |
| 2025 | Sei Young Kim |
The 2023 and 2024 editions were played at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju. The event moved to Pine Beach in 2025.
Sei Young Kim (spelled Kim Se-young in Korean media) won last year at Pine Beach. She finished on 24-under 264, four shots clear of Nasa Hataoka, and became the first Korean champion in four years. Two things stand out in this list. First, winners come from different countries: Korea and Australia are both on it. Second, only one edition has been played at Pine Beach so far.
Prize Money Breakdown and Race to CME Globe Points
The total purse is $2,350,000. That is up from last year's $2.3 million.
The LPGA pays the winner 15% of the purse, which works out to about $352,500 this week. Some sources list the winner's share as $350,000 or $367,500, so the official LPGA figure after the event is the one that counts.
The LPGA uses a fixed percentage scale for each finishing place. The table below applies the percentages from last year's BMW Ladies Championship payout (a $2.3 million purse) to this year's $2.35 million purse. These are estimates. The official payout is confirmed by the LPGA after the final round.
| Position | Share of purse | Estimated prize money |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15.00% | $352,500 |
| 2 | 9.17% | $215,473 |
| 3 | 6.65% | $156,310 |
| 4 | 5.15% | $120,918 |
| 5 | 4.14% | $97,326 |
| 6 | 3.39% | $79,630 |
| 7 | 2.84% | $66,653 |
| 8 | 2.48% | $58,396 |
| 9 | 2.23% | $52,498 |
| 10 | 2.03% | $47,778 |
| 11 | 1.88% | $44,238 |
| 12 | 1.76% | $41,289 |
| 13 | 1.65% | $38,693 |
| 14 | 1.55% | $36,335 |
| 15 | 1.46% | $34,211 |
| 16 | 1.38% | $32,323 |
| 17 | 1.31% | $30,673 |
| 18 | 1.25% | $29,257 |
| 19 | 1.19% | $28,077 |
| 20 | 1.15% | $27,132 |
Because the event has no cut, every player in the field is paid. The lower places earn smaller amounts. In last year's event, 30th place earned $18,127 and 50th place earned $8,082. Expect this year's figures to be slightly higher.
Race to CME Globe Points
Players also earn Race to CME Globe points. Last year's winner earned 500 points. The top 60 players in the points standings at the end of the season reach the CME Group Tour Championship, so a strong week in Korea can move a player up the standings before the last event in Florida.
Schedule and Time Zones
The tournament runs Thursday to Sunday. Round 1 is on Thursday, October 22, and the final round is on Sunday, October 25. Korea is nine hours ahead of UTC, which means a big time gap for fans in Europe, America and Australia.
Use these simple rules to convert Korea Standard Time (KST):
| Your location | Conversion | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney (AEDT) | KST + 2 hours | Daylight saving is already in effect |
| UK, Thursday to Saturday (BST) | KST minus 8 hours | |
| UK, Sunday (GMT) | KST minus 9 hours | UK clocks go back early on Sunday, October 25 |
| US East Coast (EDT) | KST minus 13 hours | Thursday's round is on Wednesday night |
| UTC | KST minus 9 hours |
Example: a 7:00 AM tee time in Korea is 9:00 AM in Sydney, 11:00 PM the night before in the UK (Thursday to Saturday) and 6:00 PM the night before on the US East Coast.
Tee times were not published when we wrote this article. Check lpga.com for the official times and pairings.
How to Watch
Broadcast details change by country, so use the official LPGA page for your region.
- United States: LPGA announced that every round of the 2026 season would air live on Golf Channel or CNBC. Check your listings for the week.
- South Korea: JTBC Golf has carried the event in past years.
- Other countries: Search for your local sports channel or streaming service that carries the LPGA Tour.
Because of the time difference, many fans in the US and UK will watch early rounds live in the evening or overnight. Highlights and leaderboard updates are the best option if you cannot stay up.
Follow LankaSport for round-by-round updates during the week.
What to Watch For
Here are five points that could shape the week.
1. The defending champion. Sei Young Kim won here last year with a first round of 62 and a four-shot margin, so she has the most recent experience of winning at Pine Beach.
2. The home crowd. About 60,000 people came last year. A big gallery can lift local players, but it can also add pressure on the final nine.
3. KLPGA players in the field. This is the first year of the new agreement. Fifteen KLPGA Tour players have a chance to show what they can do against the LPGA field.
4. Weather. Haenam is in the south-west of the country. Wind and rain can change scoring from one day to the next. Check the forecast before each round.
5. The points race. With the CME Group Tour Championship coming up in November, players near the cut line for that event have extra reasons to push.
A Simple Way to Follow Along
Look at three things each day:
- The top 10 on the leaderboard
- The scoring average of the round
- Any change in weather
These three will tell you most of the story.
Season So Far
The 2026 LPGA Tour has 33 events in 13 countries. The total purse for the season is more than $132 million, the highest in the history of the tour.
The season runs from January 29 to November 22. Major events this year include The Chevron Championship in April, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June and The Amundi Evian Championship in July.
Here is what we have covered at LankaSport this season:
- Our Amundi Evian Championship 2026 results article has the prize money and the top 10.
- Our 2026 CPKC Women's Open article covers the August event.
- Our Solheim Cup results article covers the team event between Europe and the USA.
The week before this event, the tour played the Buick LPGA Shanghai in China from October 15 to 18. Read our 2026 Buick LPGA Shanghai preview to see how the Asian swing started.
What Comes Next
After Korea, the tour continues toward the end of the season. The CME Group Tour Championship is scheduled for November 19 to 22 at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. It is the season finale.
The Maybank Championship also appears on the schedule between the two events. Check lpga.com for its dates and location.
Players who want a place in the finale will use these final weeks to collect points. A good result in Korea helps. If you missed the previous stop, catch up with our Buick LPGA Shanghai guide.
Also on LankaSport This Week
The BMW Ladies Championship is one of several events running around the same dates. If you follow more than one sport, these guides may help:
- 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships guide, running October 17 to 25 in Rotterdam
- World Surf League Portugal 2026 guide, running October 16 to 25
- Wrestling World Championships 2026 preview, starting October 24 in Astana
- Arctic Open 2026 badminton results, a recent full results report
FAQ
When is the BMW Ladies Championship 2026?
It runs from Thursday, October 22, to Sunday, October 25, 2026.
Where is the BMW Ladies Championship 2026 played?
It is played at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea. The venue also hosted the 2025 edition.
Who is in the BMW Ladies Championship 2026 field?
The field has 84 players: 68 LPGA Tour players, 15 KLPGA Tour players and 1 invited player. The confirmed list is published on lpga.com in the week of the event.
Who won the BMW Ladies Championship last year?
Sei Young Kim (Kim Se-young in Korean media) won in 2025 at Pine Beach. She finished on 24-under 264 and became the first Korean champion in four years.
How much is the prize money?
The total purse is $2,350,000. The LPGA pays the winner 15%, which is about $352,500. See the prize money breakdown above for the estimated payout by position.
How can I watch the BMW Ladies Championship?
In the United States, LPGA rounds air on Golf Channel or CNBC. In Korea, JTBC Golf has been the broadcaster in past years. Check your local listings for other countries.
Are there tickets for the BMW Ladies Championship 2026?
Tickets and entry rules are handled by the organizers. Check the official BMW Ladies Championship channels for current prices and details.
Is there a cut at the BMW Ladies Championship?
No. All 84 players are expected to play four rounds this year. A cut will start in 2027.