*This content was translated by AI.
The Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) is expanding opportunities for foreign players to enter the domestic stage, strengthening the tour's international competitiveness.
The KLPGA operates various entry pathways allowing players ranging from world-class stars to promising talents with high growth potential to challenge in the regular tour based on their skills and experience.
First, starting from the 2016 season, players ranked within the top 30 of the women's golf world rankings as of Tuesday six weeks before tournament opening are granted qualification for the regular tour. Austen Kim (26, USA) recently competed in the '16th Lotte Open' under this regulation.
Players who finished among the top earners on major overseas tours in the previous season can also enter the KLPGA tour. Players ranked within the top 3 in prize money on the LPGA tour, JLPGA tour, and LET, as well as the CLPGA tour's prize money champion, are granted qualification for the following season's regular tour.
Wang Zhixuan (19, China), the 2025 CLPGA tour prize money champion, is currently competing in the KLPGA tour this season through this system. She participated in 13 tournaments, recorded her first top-10 finish with a joint 7th place at the '2026 NH Investment & Securities Ladies Championship', and made the cut five times.
There is also an invitation system for outstanding overseas tour players. The LPGA grants invitation eligibility to players ranked within the top 30 in points for the previous year or current year, while the JLPGA and LET extend invitations to those ranked within the top 20. The ranking cutoff date is Tuesday four weeks before tournament opening. Kanazawa Shina (31, Japan) and Kamiya Sora (23, Japan) competed in the 'Hanwha Classic' during the 2024 season through this system.
A pathway to challenge regardless of world ranking or performance on affiliated tours has also been established: the 'International Qualifying Tournament (IQT)', operated by the KLPGA since 2015. Professional and amateur foreign players aged 18 or older with tour activity experience within the past five years may participate.
The IQT winner receives a regular tour seed for the following season. Players finishing 2nd to 3rd receive entry rights to the KLPGA Championship, those placing 2nd to 8th are exempt from the regular tour seed ranking tournament preliminaries, and players ranked 2nd to 10th and 11th to 20th are granted Dream Tour and Jump Tour seeds respectively.
The number of participants has steadily increased: 46 in 2022, 50 in 2023, 63 in 2024, and 71 in 2025. Achievements by IQT graduates continue to emerge.
Chawarin Bunjan (27, Thailand), who finished 3rd in the 2025 IQT, entered the KLPGA tour with a 15th-place finish in the regular tour seed ranking tournament and went on to win the '14th E1 Charity Open' during the 2026 season. This marks the first victory by a Thai player in the KLPGA tour. Pakcharajuta Kongkraphan (34, Thailand), the IQT winner that same year, is currently ranked second in rookie points this season.
Chen Yuzhu from Taiwan became the first foreign player to win the Dream Tour in 2019 after winning the IQT in 2017. Japan's Takabayashi Yumi and China's Shui Xiang also entered the KLPGA tour through the IQT and seed ranking tournament.
Starting from the 2022 season, the KLPGA fully opened the associate member selection tournament and Jump Tour to foreign players. Foreign players can now follow the same growth pathway as domestic players: associate member selection tournament → Jump Tour → full member selection tournament → Dream Tour → seed ranking tournament. Li Shuying (23, China) entered the KLPGA tour through this process and claimed her first victory at the 'Gwangnam Ilbo·Happiness Open' last season.
Additionally, overseas tour professionals and foreign amateurs who meet certain criteria may enter the regular tour through special recommendation. Foreign players who win co-sanctioned tournaments with overseas tours are granted a seed for that tour after joining I-TOUR membership.
The KLPGA plans to further improve entry systems for foreign players in the future, creating an environment where outstanding players from around the world can compete and enhancing the tour's international competitiveness.
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*This content was translated by AI.
