The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship makes its much-anticipated return to Sahalee Country Club for the first time in eight years. The venue located in Sammamish, Washington – a 35-minute drive east of downtown Seattle – welcomes the best in women's golf for just the second time in the major championship’s illustrious history. A star-studded field is poised to compete again this year, and here's a closer look at not just the players in the field but also what you need to know about this week's KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The Field
Nelly Korda headlines the field at the season’s third major championship as she makes her debut at Sahalee Country Club. The Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 will be looking to recapture the magic that lifted her to six wins early in the season as she arrives on the West Coast off back-to-back missed cuts at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally and the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give.
In 2021, Korda won her first major title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club and is joined at Sahalee by eight other past winners, including defending champion Ruoning Yin, Sei Young Kim (2020), Hannah Green (2019), Danielle Kang (2017), Brooke Henderson (2016), Yani Tseng (2011, 2008), Cristie Kerr (2010) and Anna Nordqvist (2009).
Also poised to compete is Lydia Ko, who finished runner-up to Henderson at Sahalee in 2016, and continues her quest to secure the last remaining point she needs to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. It was at Sahalee in 2016 that Inbee Park qualified for the Hall after completing 10 years of membership on the LPGA Tour.
Other notables in the field include Lilia Vu, who won the Meijer LPGA Classic in her first start since March after returning from a back injury. Vu defeated Grace Kim and Lexi Thompson on the third playoff hole at Blythefield Country Club to capture the win. Thompson is also in the field and is competing in what is expected to be her final KPMG Women’s PGA Championship after she announced her retirement at the U.S. Women’s Open. Kim will tee it up at Sahalee as well.
Ruoning Yin Defends
At Baltusrol Golf Club in 2023, Ruoning Yin won her first major title in thrilling fashion with a closing birdie on the 72nd hole to win by a single stroke at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Yin held off a Sunday charge from Yuka Saso to join Shanshan Feng as just the second player from China to win a major championship on the LPGA Tour. Yin’s victory at Baltusrol was her second of the season, and she was elevated to Rolex Rankings No. 1 with her outstanding performance throughout the season. But as Yin prepares to defend her title, she does so in the midst of what has been a challenging year with just two top 10s on her 2024 resume.
Henderson’s History at Sahalee
A 19-year-old Brooke Henderson cemented her status as a world beater after defeating Lydia Ko to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2016. It was the first time the venue hosted the major championship, and Henderson felt right at home amongst Sahalee’s towering, tree-lined fairways, which reminded her of her home in Canada. She found a spark early in the week when she made a hole-in-one on her fourth hole of the tournament and won a car. Three days later, Henderson came from two strokes back on the final day with a bogey-free, 6-under, 65 to force a playoff with Ko, who she promptly defeated on the first extra hole by sticking her approach to within three feet of the hole for birdie and the win. The victory marked the first of two major titles for Henderson, who has become the winningest golfer, male or female, from Canada with 13 LPGA Tour wins. She returns to Sahalee looking for some momentum as she remains in search of her first title of the year despite carding five top 10s through the first part of the year.
Celebrating an Anniversary
It was 10 years ago that KPMG and the PGA of America partnered with the LPGA in order to breathe new life into what had been known as the LPGA Championship. Since that alliance and rebranding occurred, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has been staged at some of the most elite venues in the game of golf, from Hazeltine to Olympia Fields to Baltusrol’s Lower Course. Along with premier venues, the major championship has enjoyed an ever-increasing purse that has risen to $10 million. Through the rebranding of this major championship, the KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit was also created and celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, as well. The 2024 summit features Academy Award winner Geena Davis as keynote speaker, in addition to author Angela Duckworth and KPMG CEO Paul Knopp. Watch the entire summit steam live on June 19 from 12-7 p.m. ET at KPMG.com/WomensLeadership.
LPGA Returns to Sahalee
Sahalee Country Club, whose name means “high heavenly ground” features more than 7,500 trees and hosted its first women’s major when the club welcomed the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2016. Sahalee hosted its first major, the PGA Championship, in 1998. The club also played venue to a World Golf Championship in 2002 as well as the U.S. Senior Open in 2010. Sahalee Country Club was designed by Ted Robinson and reworked by Rees Jones in 1996 and again in 2022. This week, the course will play at 6,731 yards and to a par 72.
