SEOUL: Defending champion Minjee Lee on Wednesday warned that red-hot Lydia Ko will be the player to beat at this week’s BMW Ladies Championship as the US LPGA Tour returns to South Korea. Australia’s Lee, born in Perth to Korean parents, beat American Alison Lee in a playoff to win last year’s title and returns to compete at Seowon Valley Country Club.

She will face a stiff challenge from 2022 champion Ko, who won Olympic gold in Paris in August and then ended her eight-year major drought at the Women’s British Open at St Andrews two weeks later. New Zealander Ko also won the LPGA Queen City Championship in Los Angeles last month and Lee knows her rival will be difficult to stop this week. “You can’t really pick one person because the depth of the field is so deep,” Lee said.

“But I do think Lydia has had such a great back half of the year so far. She’s got really great form.” Lee also said she also expects a strong challenge from China’s Yin Ruoning, who won her fourth LPGA title last week in Shanghai, and South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran, a winner at TPC Boston last month.

Also competing this week are world number two Lilia Vu, two-time major winner Yuka Saso, Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul and American Lauren Coughlin. Defending champion Lee has yet to win a title in 2024 and she said the course for the 72-hole, no-cut event was in better shape than last year.

“There’s much more grass on pretty much every single green,” she said. “There are a few patches but I think now to worry about. Overall, I think the greens are in really good condition.” — AFP