Over a decadelong pro career that includes 10 LPGA Tour wins, Australian star Minjee Lee has never defended a title. She will have a chance to do that this week in South Korea, the country of her parents’ birth.

“I’m excited obviously to come back to Korea and play. It’s very close to my heritage, and I get to see my extended family as well,” Lee said at her press conference Wednesday ahead of the BMW Ladies Championship at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, northwest of Seoul. “And coming back to a golf course where you’ve won before and the memories, that’s cool too.”

Minjee Lee of Australia speaks during a press conference ahead of the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA Tour at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 16, 2024. (Yonhap)

Minjee Lee of Australia speaks during a press conference ahead of the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA Tour at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 16, 2024. (Yonhap)

The BMW Ladies Championship is the second leg of t
he LPGA Tour’s annual Asian swing and is the only LPGA stop in South Korea each season. Last year, Lee, world No. 17, defeated Alison Lee, an American-born golfer of Korean descent, in a playoff for her 10th career title.

Lee said the greens are in “much better condition” than a year ago.

“I think even in comparison to last year, the fairways are in better shape,” Lee added. “There are a lot of divots, but I think they had a really hot summer and a lot of rain over the last few weeks. Considering the weather conditions, I think the course superintendents and everyone have made a really great effort in making the course the best condition that it can be for our event.

Others attending the press conference pointed to Minjee Lee and world No. 3 Lydia Ko as two favorites this week. Including Ko, eight of the top-10 players in the world rankings will tee off Thursday.

“We have an excellent field, and anyone can win this week. But if I really have to pick one player, I would say it’s Minjee, just because she wo
n at this course last year,” said South Korean veteran Amy Yang. “And obviously, this course fits her game, and I think she will do well.”

Another South Korean player, Ryu Hae-ran, also picked Lee because of her length off the tee.

“This is a course that she won at and she has a lot of great memories,” said Ryu, the 2023 LPGA Rookie of the Year. “And on the back of that, perhaps she has a higher chance of winning, and I will also do my best as well.”

Lee herself chose Ko, a South Korean-born Kiwi. Ko has been one of the tour’s top players in the second half, with an Olympic gold medal, a major title and a regular tournament victory in the August-September period.

“Obviously, you can’t really pick one person because the depth of the field is so deep, and then all of the players who come to Korea to play, it’s one of the best fields that we have in Asian events,” Lee said. “Lydia has had such a great back half of the year so far. She’s got really great form. And hopefully, I also have a great week.”

Lauren
Coughlin of the United States, a two-time winner this season, also went with Ko. But Yuka Saso of Japan, who won the U.S. Women’s Open in June as her second career major title, picked herself.

“I have to play well and do my best, and the results will come,” she said. “I just have to do well and not think about anybody else.”

Oh Soo-min, one of two South Korean amateurs in the field, said she was “in awe of all the professional golfers here.”

“I would just like to really learn a lot, and I would just like to say that I’m really cheering for everybody here,” the 16-year-old said.

Yang, who won her maiden major title in June at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, said the breakthrough gave her confidence that she could still compete on the tour in her mid-30s.

Yang, 35, also said she hasn’t been as consistent as she would like after the major win, and she wants to use this opportunity to play in front of her family and friends to turn things around.

“I’m focused on shoring up my weaknesses,” she said. “And
I’m trying to be modest and looking forward to the future and taking it one step at a time.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency