"Grab the LPGA Major Ticket"... Korea Sends 6 Challengers

Asia Pacific Amateur Championship Opens
Tour Invitations Granted to USA, Australia, and Others

"Towards the Major Tournament Entry."

Six Korean representative players have thrown down the gauntlet in the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship (WAAP), where entry rights to the LPGA Tour major tournaments are at stake.

Min-sol Kim (left), who performed well at last year's LPGA Tour BMW Championship, is seen smiling and talking with her caddie.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The tournament will be held over four days from the 9th at the Singapore Island Country Club (par 72). A total of 85 players from 22 countries are participating. South Korea is represented by Kim Min-sol (17), ranked 16th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), along with Lim Ji-yoo (18), Park Ye-ji (18), Yang Hyo-jin (18), Seo Gyo-rim (17), and Yoo Hyun-jo (18). Kim Min-sol, Lim Ji-yoo, Park Ye-ji, Seo Gyo-rim, and Yoo Hyun-jo are national representatives of the Korea Golf Association, while Yang Hyo-jin is a member of the Korea Golf Association’s national reserve team.

Among them, Kim Min-sol finished 13th in last year’s tournament held at Siam Country Club in Thailand, and Lim Ji-yoo missed the championship by 5 strokes after scoring a quintuple bogey (+5) on the 6th hole in last year’s event.

Now in its 5th edition, the WAAP champion earns the right to participate in three LPGA Tour major tournaments: the AIG Women's Open, the Amundi Evian Championship, and the Chevron Championship. The winner also gains entry to the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Tour (KLPGA) Hana Financial Group Championship, the Australian Ladies Professional Golf Tour ISPS Handa Australian Women's Open, and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

Established in 2018 by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC), this tournament has served as a gateway to discover Asia’s next-generation golf talents. Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), the winner of the inaugural event, rose to world No. 1 in women’s golf last year. Players currently active on the LPGA Tour, such as Yuka Saso, Yuna Nishimura (both Japan), and Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), also passed through this tournament during their junior years.

As the host country of WAAP, Singapore has the largest contingent with eight players participating this year. Qatar and Lebanon players have also made their debut on the entry list. In the previous four tournaments, Japanese players (Yuka Yasuda, Mizuki Hashimoto) won twice, while Thailand (Thitikul) and Taiwan (Ting-Huan Huang) each claimed the title once.

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