The LPGA’s four-stop Asian Swing has been reduced to one event: the BMW Ladies Championship, contested at LPGA International Busan in South Korea.
The events in China, Taiwan and Japan were nixed due to travel restrictions and protocols related to COVID-19.
The no-cut, 72-hole event will feature a limited field of 84 players, headlined by stars such as Jin Young Ko, Danielle Kang, Minjee Lee, Lydia Ko and Korean legend Inbee Park.
Ha Na Jang will return to defend her 2019 title.
As we do each week, here’s a rundown of facts and figures to get you prepped for the 2021 BMW Ladies Championship.
The Skinny
Name: BMW Ladies Championship
Dates: Oct. 21-24, 2021
Tour Debut: 2019 Season
Where: Busan, South Korea
Course: LPGA International Busan
Distance: Par 72, 6726 yards
Format: 84 players, 72 holes, no cut
Purse: $2 million
Winning Share: $300,000
Defending Champion: Ha Na Jang
How to Follow the BMW Ladies Championship
LIVE STREAMING: Wed-Sat: 9:30 p.m.-2:30 a.m. (NBC Sports App, GOLFChannel.com)
TAPE-DELAY TV: Thu: 2-6 p.m.; Fri-Sat: 5:30-10:30 p.m.; Sun: 5:30-10 p.m. (GOLF Channel)
LINKS: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Youtube
History: BMW Ladies Championship
The one-year old BMW Ladies Championship may lack a deep history but its inaugural event included an epic finish with Ha Na Jang beating Danielle Kang in a three-hole playoff.
The event is contest in Busan, South Korea, and is co-sanctioned by the LPGA of Korea Tour and the LPGA Tour. It debuted on the LPGA Tour in 2019, replacing the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship as the LPGA Tour’s Korean stop on its fall Asian swing.
The BMW Ladies Championship was an LPGA of Korea Tour event for three years, from 2015-2017, before becoming part of the LPGA Tour.
The host course, LPGA International Busan, was formerly named Asiad Country Club, designed and built in 2002 for the Asian Games. The 27-hole golf complex was redesigned by famed architect Rees Jones. It is one of two LPGA-branded golf courses with LPGA International in Daytona, Fla., also a Jones design, being the other.
History: Scoring
18: 64, Danielle Kang (2019, Rd 4)
36: 134, Danielle Kang (2019)
54: 203, Somi Lee, Seung Yeon Lee (2019)
72: 269 (-19), Ha Na Jang, Danielle Kang (2019)
BMW Ladies Championship Field
Due to the ongoing travel restrictions and protocols in place related to COVID, the field in Korea is not stout, but it’s also not weak. The field includes 11 of the 21 winners on the LPGA Tour in 2021, headlined by Korean superstar Jin Young Ko, a three-time winner in 2021.
Other marquee names include Inbee Park, Hyo Joo Kim, Sei Young Kim, Danielle Kang, Lydia Ko, Minjee Lee and Ariya Jutanugarn, among others.
Field: Top-5 Betting Favorites
1. Jin Young Ko (4-1)
2. Minjee Lee (14-1)
3. Danielle Kang (16-1)
3. Hyo Joo Kim (16-1)
3. Lydia Ko (16-1)
Field: Rank and Odds
BMW Ladies Championship | LPGA International Busan | Busan, South Korea | Oct. 21-24, 2021
