Who Will Be the Protagonist of Taeguk Nangja Heading to Paris?

Major KPMG Women's Event Followed by Olympic Ranking Announcement
Up to 4 Players to Compete if Within Top 15 in World Rankings
Ko Jin-young and Kim Hyo-joo Likely, Shin Ji-ae and Others Aim to Join

The protagonist heading to the Paris Olympics will be decided.

Shin Ji-ae

The third major tournament of the year on the U.S. Women's Professional Golf (LPGA) Tour, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship (total prize money of $10 million), is a fierce battleground. It will be held for four days starting on the 20th (local time) at Sahalee Country Club (par 71, 6,831 yards) in Sammamish, Washington, USA. Twenty-one Korean players will participate. There is keen interest in whether they can secure their first victory after 16 tournaments since the season opener.

Above all, this is the last tournament that will be reflected in the world rankings, which will determine the players who will participate in women's golf at the Paris Olympics. Based on the world rankings as of the 24th after this tournament, the players who will compete in women's golf at the Paris Olympics will be selected. Players ranked within the top 15 in the world rankings can have up to four players from one country. From the ranks below that, the participation quota is limited to two players per country.

Korea sent four players each to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Currently, only Ko Jin-young (7th) and Kim Hyo-joo (12th) are within the top 15 in the world rankings. It is highly likely that only two players will participate in the Paris Olympics. For Shin Ji-ae, ranked 24th, and Yang Hee-young, ranked 25th, this is their last chance. They must win the trophy at this tournament to raise their world ranking into the top 15.

Whether Korean players can secure their first victory is also a key point to watch. They have not won in the previous 15 tournaments, experiencing the longest 'win drought after the season opener' in 24 years since 2000. If no winner emerges in this tournament either, it will be close to the 19th tournament after the season opener in 1999 when the first victory was recorded.

Past champions such as Kim Sei-young in 2020 and Jeon In-ji in 2022 will participate. In addition, Ko Jin-young, Kim Hyo-joo, Yoo Hae-ran, An Na-rin, Lee Mi-hyang, Choi Hye-jin, Lim Jin-hee, Ji Eun-hee, Shin Ji-eun, Kim A-rim, Lee Jeong-eun 6, Lee So-mi, and Sung Yu-jin will also join. Nelly Korda (USA), world No. 1 who has won six times this year, will challenge for the title at this tournament for the first time in seven years. Lilia Vu (USA), world No. 2 and last week's winner of the Meijer Classic, is aiming for back-to-back wins. It is the title defense for world No. 3 Lin Xinning (China).

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