The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour's Hana Financial Group Championship is shaping up as a battleground for some of the world's best players.
The KLPGA said on the 16th that the tournament, to be held Sept. 17-20 at The Heaven Country Club (par 72) in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, will feature a deep field including Hwang Yu-min, who competes on the U.S. LPGA Tour, world No. 12 Lydia Ko of New Zealand, world No. 15 Minjee Lee of Australia, and Japan's Iwai sisters, who have each won on the LPGA Tour. Total prize money is 1.5 billion won ($1.1 million), with 270 million won going to the winner.
Hwang draws the most attention. Winner of the KLPGA Tour's popularity award in 2024 and 2025, Hwang moved to the United States and ranks second in LPGA Tour rookie of the year points this season. It will be her first KLPGA Tour start in about two months, since the Lotte Open in July. With no LPGA Tour event on the schedule this week and plans to remain in Korea, she decided to enter the Hana Financial Group Championship, according to the association. Although she holds a KLPGA Tour card, the application period had passed, so she will play on a sponsor's invitation. Interest in her return before domestic fans is already running high.
For Minjee Lee, the question is whether she can finally cross the threshold to victory. Lee has finished runner-up at the Hana Financial Group Championship three times — in 2021, 2023 and 2025 — each after a playoff. She also tied for third in 2024, staying in contention every year without lifting the trophy.
The player who blocked Lee twice is Lee Da-yeon, who beat her to the title in 2023 and 2025. After struggling with back pain following a traffic accident, Lee Da-yeon has completed her comeback, winning last year's Hana Financial Group Championship and then the Aurora World Championship this August. This week she goes for a third title at the same event. "It's meaningful to be going for a third win at the same tournament," she said. "I want to prepare my iron play, which is my strength, and show good golf."
Lydia Ko's presence is another draw. Ko, who debuted on the LPGA Tour as a teenager, has 23 career LPGA Tour victories and became the youngest player inducted into the Hall of Fame. With her sponsor hosting the event, she is determined to show her form.
Twin sisters Akie Iwai and Chisato Iwai, who represent Japanese women's golf, will also play in Korea. Fraternal twins born in 2002, they debuted on the LPGA Tour last year and set an unprecedented mark as twin sisters who both won on tour. Younger sister Chisato won first at the Riviera Maya Open last May, and older sister Akie followed three months later at the Standard Portland Classic, making both LPGA Tour champions.
The Iwai sisters played the LPGA Tour's BMW Ladies Championship in Korea last year, but this is their first KLPGA Tour start. How they perform before Korean fans is another storyline.
Yani Tseng of Taiwan, a former world No. 1, will also appear before Korean fans. Tseng, a 15-time LPGA Tour winner, won the LPGA Tour's Hana Bank Championship in Korea in 2011. She later endured a long slump due to injury and the yips, but laid the groundwork for a comeback with a win at the Ladies European Tour's Wistron Ladies Open in October 2025. Tseng plans to use this week to sharpen her competitive edge ahead of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
The race for domestic season titles is also tight. Seo Kyo-rim, with four wins this season, leads the money list with 1.38 billion won and tops the player of the year points standings with 563. Kim Min-sol, with three wins, is chasing her, so the outcome at the Hana Financial Group Championship is expected to affect the individual title races down the stretch.
The performances of the "young guns" sponsored by Hana Financial Group are also worth watching. National team member Oh Su-min and Lee Hyo-song, the youngest rookie of the year in Japan LPGA Tour history, are on the entry list. Oh tied for 10th at this year's KLPGA Tour Rejuran Championship for a top-10 finish, and drew notice with a solo third place at the 2024 Hana Financial Group Singapore Women's Open. With global stars and Korea's top players all in the field, another question is whether Oh can make her name known once again.
