The 2026 Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour opens this week in Thailand.
The season kicks off with the Rejuran Championship, a four-day event (total purse: 1.2 billion KRW (900,000 USD)) that begins on the 12th at Amata Spring Country Club (par 72) in Chonburi.
With this tournament the KLPGA begins an eight-month stretch. The circuit will visit a record 31 events this year, competing for a total purse of 34.7 billion KRW (26,025,000 USD), the largest in tour history.
The Rejuran Championship also boasts the largest purse ever for a season opener. A 120-player field — the top 90 KLPGA-eligible players, 23 Thai and international entrants, and seven sponsor invites — will vie for the inaugural trophy.
Top pick to win is Yoo Hyun-jo (21). In her second pro season last year, Yoo posted 19 top-10 finishes and swept both the KLPGA Player of the Year and the lowest scoring average awards. She’s aiming to defend the Player of the Year title and wants to start the season with a victory.
Yoo said she’s motivated to perform well at the season’s first event, especially since it’s the debut tournament for a new sponsor. Coming straight off preseason training, she admitted her competitive feel might not be fully sharp yet, so she plans to concentrate on her process rather than the result.
“I worked every day throughout the winter to sharpen my short game and improve my fitness,” she added. “This season, I’ll do everything I can to pick up multiple wins after falling short in that area last year.”
Hong Jeong-min (24), who led the tour with three victories and topped the money list last season, is also targeting the opener.
She said she’s been looking forward to the 2026 kickoff and spent the preseason working on her swing and rhythm. Hong wants to be the event’s first champion but emphasized that her immediate priority is getting comfortable with the unfamiliar course and turf.
Lee Ye-won (23), the 2024 Player of the Year and last year’s co-leader in wins, is similarly focused.
After winning the 2024 Blue Canyon Ladies Championship, Lee is once again aiming for success on Thai soil.
Rookie of the Year Seo Gyo-rim (20) heads into her second season with high expectations. She stressed that building momentum from the opener is vital and, after a disciplined offseason, plans to play confidently. Although she captured last year’s Rookie of the Year honor, she’s still chasing her first win and has made victory a primary goal.
Other contenders include Ko Ji-won (22), known as “the Daughter of Jeju,” who collected two wins last season; second-year pro Kim Min-sol (19); and Noh Seung-hee (25), who finished second on last year’s money list.
Long hitters Hwang Yu-min (23) and Lee Dong-eun (22), both regulars on the KLPGA’s distance charts, have moved to the U.S. circuit, and another big hitter, Bang Shin-sil (22), will skip this event.
Amateur national team players Oh Su-min (18) and Park Seo-jin (18) join the field as sponsor invitees and could stir up a surprise.
