Korea’s only regular LPGA tournament to open on the 22nd at BS Group’s Pine Beach

[Financial News] The BMW Ladies Championship 2026, the only regular Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour event held in Korea, will take place from the 22nd through the 25th at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam County, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. Alongside competition among world-class players, the event is expected to boost the local economy by attracting large crowds.
According to BS Group on the 12th, 84 players, including 15 from the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA), will compete in 72-hole stroke play to determine the winner. The total purse is $2.35 million, with $350,000 going to the winner.
Hosted by BMW Korea, the BMW Ladies Championship is the only regular LPGA Tour event held in Korea. Pine Beach, owned by BS Group, has been selected as the host venue for the second consecutive year.
Last year’s tournament was the first regular LPGA Tour event held in the Honam region and drew around 60,000 spectators over four days. Around 30,000 people attended on the final-round day alone, and Kim Sei-young won, making her the first Korean champion in four years.
The influx of visitors also led to increased use of lodging, restaurants and tourist attractions in Haenam and surrounding areas. BS Group expects golf fans’ visits to again energize local businesses this year and help promote Haenam in Korea and abroad.
Pine Beach, the tournament venue, comprises the Pine, Beach and Oceano courses. Ten holes across the courses meet the sea, and the 6th hole on the Beach Course, where players hit tee shots across the water, is considered one of its signature holes.
Pine Beach was also included for the first time this year on the list of the “World’s 100 Best Golf Resorts,” published by the U.S. golf magazine Golf Magazine.
During the tournament, BS Group will set up a spectator booth featuring a roulette game, prize giveaways and Pine Beach merchandise for sale. It also plans to introduce the group’s key businesses and future vision to tournament officials and spectators.
Meanwhile, BS Group is expanding its business, focusing on construction, real estate development and energy. It operates the Sujain housing brand and is pursuing Solaseado, a public-private partnership urban development project, with Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, Haenam County and others.
The National AI Computing Center broke ground in Solaseado last August, and Samsung Electronics announced plans to invest 17 trillion won in an AI data center. Large-scale data centers and a 5.4-GW renewable energy complex are slated to be built there in the future.
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter