* Translated by Papago

Starnews

'Average prize money of 1.28 billion won' The total prize money decreased from the start of the KPGA Tour in April 2026 "Why?"

Published :

Kim Dongyoon

*This content was translated by AI.

2026 KPGA Tour schedule. /Photo = Courtesy of KPGA
2026 KPGA Tour schedule. /Photo = Courtesy of KPGA

The Korean Professional Golf Association (KPGA) will start its 2026 season in April.

The Korea Professional Golf Tour (KPGT) announced the schedule of the 2026 KPGA Tour on the 5th. This year's KPGA Tour will be held with 20 competitions and total prize money of about 24.4 billion won +@. Among them, the total prize money for the '68th Korean Open' will be announced later. So far, the average prize money per competition is about 1.28 billion won (based on the exchange rate on March 4).

It is characterized by the focus on qualitative growth and structural improvement of the tour rather than quantitative expansion of the number of competitions or total prize money. "The 2026 season focused on improving the completeness of each tournament and improving the tour structure," said Kim Won-seop, CEO of KPGT. "We will make it a premium stage that creates new value for players, fans, and brands by adding characteristics to each tournament."

"I sincerely thank all title sponsors who choose the process over the results, tomorrow over the moment, and give generous support for the development of the KPGA Tour despite difficult conditions," he added. "We will do everything the association can to sustain the growth of Korean men's golf."

The season opener is the "21st DB Insurance Promy Open (total prize money of 1 billion won)," which will be held at Laviebel Golf and Resort from April 16 to 19. The tournament is being played as the 12th KPGA Tour opener from 2014 to 2019, and from 2021 to 2026.

From the end of April to the beginning of May, a series of big competitions will be presented. The "2026 Woori Finance Championship" (1.5 billion won) will be held at Seowon Valley Country Club from April 23 to 26, and the "45th GS Caltex Maekyung Open" (1.3 billion won) will be held at Namseoul Country Club from April 30 to May 3 as a co-hosted competition with the Korea Golf Association.

In May, new changes are noted. The KPGA Founders Cup (700 million won), which was created to honor the founding members of the KPGA in 1968, will be held at Yeongam 45 in Golf Zone County for four days from May 7. The KPGA Gyeongbuk Open (700 million won) will be held in Seonsan, Golf Zone County, in the fourth round from May 14.

2026 KPGA Tour schedule. /Photo = Courtesy of KPGA
2026 KPGA Tour schedule. /Photo = Courtesy of KPGA

Kolon's 68th Korea Open (May 21-24) moved its stage to Laviebel Golf and Resort (Dunce Course) for a while last year as the Ujung Hills Country Club began renovation, but it will make a comeback again this year. The total prize money for the "68th Korean Open" jointly organized by the Korea Golf Association and the Asian Tour will be announced later. Last season, the total prize money was 1.4 billion won.

In June, the 69th KPGA Championship with A-ONE CC, which boasts the longest history, will be held at A1 Country Club from the 4th to the 7th. The total prize money will be 1.6 billion won, the largest prize money among the solo competitions. This is the 11th time this year that it will be held at A1 Country Club, which has served as the home of the KPGA Championship since 2016.

The KPGA Classic (700 million won) will then be held on Jeju Island from June 11 to 14, and the Hana Bank Invitational (1.3 billion won) will be held at Namchuncheon Country Club for four days from June 18. The tournament will be changed from co-organized last year with the Japan Tour to this year's KPGA Tour alone.

From June 25 to 28, the "KPGA Gunsan CC Open (700 million won + @)" will be held at Gunsan Country Club as the last competition in the first half of the year. The 'KPGA Gunsan CC Open' has been adding the proceeds from the tournament and the profits from food and beverage sales to the total prize money since 2024. The total prize money for the 2024 tournament was 979,297,000 won, and the total prize money for the 2025 tournament was 1.04843 million won. This year, the proceeds will be added to the total prize money.

The second half of the tour will begin from August 27 to 30 with the SBS Open (tentative name), a new competition with a total prize money of 700 million won. The new competition (OO Invitational, KRW 800 million) will then be held in the first week of September (September 3-6).

The 2025 KPGA Genesis Awards ceremony was held at the Swiss Grand Hotel Convention Hall in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on December 12 last year.  Ok Tae-hoon poses after winning the Genesis Grand Prize. /Photo = Senior Reporter Kim Jin-kyung
The 2025 KPGA Genesis Awards ceremony was held at the Swiss Grand Hotel Convention Hall in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on December 12 last year. Ok Tae-hoon poses after winning the Genesis Grand Prize. /Photo = Senior Reporter Kim Jin-kyung

From September 10, the 42nd Shinhan Donghae Open will be held at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea for four days with a prize of 1.5 billion won. The tournament will be changed from co-hosted by the three parties (KPGA Tour, Japan Tour, and Asian Tour) until last year to co-hosted by the KPGA Tour and the Japan Tour from this year.

In the third week of September before Chuseok (September 17-20), the "Golf Zone Open" will have a total prize money of 1 billion won, and in the first week of October (October 1-4), the "Hyundai Marine Choi Kyung-ju Invitational" will have a prize money of 1.25 billion won at the Ferrum Club, and in the second week of October (October 8-11), the new competition will have a prize money of 700 million won.

Seowon Valley Country Club will hold two competitions in the first half of this year: "2026 Woori Financial Championship" and the "The Charity Classic 2026" in the second half of this year. The Charity Classic 2026, which will be held from October 15 to 18, is at stake with a total prize money of 1 billion won.

From Oct. 22-25, the Genesis Championship will be held at Friendship Hills Country Club. The competition, co-hosted by the KPGA Tour and the DP World Tour, will be held with a total prize money of 4 million dollars (about 5.915.2 billion won, based on the exchange rate on March 4). The 2026 Lexus Masters (1 billion won) will then be held for four days from October 29.

The final game of the season, the KPGA Tour Championship in JEJU, will be held at the Teddy Valley Golf and Resort in Jeju from Nov. 5-8. After the end of the 2026 Lexus Masters, the top Genesis points (the number of participants not determined) can participate, and the prize money is 1.1 billion won.

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*This content was translated by AI.

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