Frisco: South Korea's Amy Yang is preparing to defend her LPGA major title at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship this week in Texas. The championship, set to commence on Thursday at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco, will feature a challenging par-72 course renowned for its expansive greens and undulating terrain.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this tournament marks the third LPGA major of the season, following victories by Mao Saigo of Japan at the Chevron Championship in April and Maja Stark of Sweden at the U.S. Women's Open earlier this month. Yang, who secured her first major title at last year's event near Seattle, qualified for the Paris Olympics with that win. However, she has not secured a victory since, and in 2025, she has yet to achieve a top-10 finish in 10 starts, including missing the cut at the recent Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give.
Yang aims to become the first player to win consecutive KPMG Women's PGA Championship titles since Park In-bee, another South Korean golfer, accomplished the feat in 2014 and 2015. Ryu Hae-ran, currently ranked No. 5 in the world, leads the South Korean contingent, having claimed her third LPGA win in Utah last month. She is followed by Kim Hyo-joo, ranked seventh, who has secured victories on both the LPGA and Ladies European Tour this season. Kim was also a contender at the Chevron Championship, losing in a five-way playoff.
Choi Hye-jin enters the tournament in good form, having recently finished as runner-up at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Prior to that, Choi achieved fourth-place ties at both the U.S. Women's Open and the Mexico Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba. Additionally, Korean LPGA Tour members Hwang You-min, Kim Su-ji, and Bang Shin-sil have qualified based on their world rankings. Hwang, world No. 47, and Kim, ranked 62nd, participated in the U.S. Women's Open, with Hwang tying for 56th and Kim missing the cut. Bang, world No. 66, will compete in her second LPGA major, having tied for 40th at last year's Chevron Championship.
The championship will also feature world No. 1 Nelly Korda, who is seeking her first win of 2025 and her third career major title.