An epic event is unfolding in Minnesota this week and the biggest names in women's golf are competing for the richest prize in LPGA history.
Get the essential news and notes heading into the third women's Major Championship of 2026 at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
HAZELTINE NATIONAL
Hazeltine National Golf Club is hosting the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for the second time, after hosting in 2019. It has also hosted two PGA Championships (2002, 2009), two U.S. Opens (1970, 1991), two U.S. Women’s Opens (1966, 1977), a U.S. Senior Open (1983), two U.S. Amateurs (2006,2024) and the 2016 Ryder Cup.
Hazeltine becomes the first venue ever to host multiple Women’s and Men’s PGA Championships.
KPMG WOMEN'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Over the last 10 years, multiple players from three different continents have won this championship:
The last player representing a European country to win this championship was Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist in 2009 at Bulle Rock Golf Course.
In 2025, the first 26 official LPGA tournaments were won by 26 different players. The first to win her second tournament of the season was Jeeno Thitikul, who won her first title of the year at the Mizuho Americas Open in May and her second at the Buick LPGA Shanghai in October.
This year has been quite different, with four players having already won multiple times: Nelly Korda (4 wins), Hyo Joo Kim, Hannah Green and Jeeno Thitikul. It’s the first time in 10 years that the LPGA has had at least four multiple-winners prior to July. In 2016, Lydio Ko (3), Ariya Jutanugarn (3), Ha Na Jang, Haru Moon and Sei Young Kim all had more than one win by the end of June.
NELLY KORDA
Nelly Korda’s win earlier this month at the United States Women's Open at Riviera Country Club was noteworthy in a several ways:
She became the first player to win back-to-back major championships since Lydia Ko, at the 2015 Evian Championship and 2016 ANA Inspiration.
She became the first American to win back-to-back major championships since Juli Inkster, at the 1999 U.S. Women's Open and McDonald's LPGA Championship.
She became the first player to win the first two major championships of one calendar year since Inbee Park won each of the first three major championships of 2013 (Kraft Nabisco Championship, Wegman's LPGA Championship and the U.S. Women's Open).
She became the second American to win the U.S. Women's Open over the last 10 years (Allisen Corpuz in 2023).
She's now one of eight players, including five Americans (along with Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Betsy King and Patty Sheehan), to win all three of the current major championships played on American soil (Chevron, U.S. Women's Open, PGA).
Korda will look to join the following list of legends to win three or more consecutive majors: Park and Zaharias are the only players to win each of the first three majors of one calendar year.
Korda, who was T-56 after the first round, became just the second U.S. Women's Open champion to be ranked 50th or lower after 18 holes, joining Sung Hyun Park, who was T-58 in 2017.
The seven-shot deficit she faced after the first round matches the largest ever overcome to win the championship, a feat also accomplished by Park (2017), Meg Mallon (2004), Susie Berning (1972), and Carol Mann (1965).
At 27 years, 10 months and 10 days at the time, she became the ninth player to win four major championships prior to turning 28 years old (she is the eighth-youngest to do it):
Korda took over the No. 1 World Ranking from Jeeno Thitikul on April 27, 2026. It is a record seventh time that she has assumed the mantle. She has been #1 for at least one week for a record six consecutive seasons starting in 2021.
The only male golfer to rank #1 in the world for at least one week in each of six consecutive years is Tiger Woods (14 years, from 1997 to 2010). Scottie Scheffler has a current five-year streak (2022-2026).
Korda and Scheffler have been ranked #1 at the same time in their respective World Rankings often over the last five years (Scheffler first became #1 in March 2022 and has held the mantle, without interruption, since May 21, 2023). Prior to Korda/Scheffler, the last pair of Americans to be #1 concurrently were Stacy Lewis and Tiger Woods, in April of 2013.
Korda has finished among the Top 10 in all eight official stroke play events she has entered this year. It’s the longest streak since So Yeon Ryu started 2017 did that in her first eight starts No player has done that in her first nine official stroke play events of one calendar year since Karrie Webb finished among the Top in each of her first 13 stroke play events of 1999.
JEENO THITIKUL
Jeeno Thitikul, currently No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings, has nine career LPGA Tour victories, but none of them are major championships. Among current members of the LPGA, she has the most career victories without a major, ahead of Nasa Hataoka (7).
Since 2000, there are three examples of players whose first major championship was their 10th or later overall victory: Lorena Ochoa (her 2007 British Open victory was her first major and her 13th official LPGA win), Sei Young Kim (won the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship – her 11th victory overall) and Cristie Kerr (her 2007 U.S. Women’s Open title was her 10th official win).
Thitikul finished T-4 at the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and then lost in a playoff to Grace Kim a month later at the Amundi Evian Championship. In three majors since then, she finished T-30 at the 2025 AIG Women’s Open, missed the cut at the 2026 Chevron, and finished T-28 earlier this month at the U.S. Women’s Open. It is the first time since she turned professional that she finished outside the top 25 in each of three consecutive major championship starts.
HYO JOO KIM
Earlier this year, South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim became the first player in LPGA Tour history to record two rounds of 61 or lower in one tournament, having shot 61 in both the first and third rounds of the Ford Championship.
From 2018 through 2024, Kim had six consecutive Top 20 finishes at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship before having to withdraw during the championship last year due to a back injury.
CHARLEY HULL
Englishwoman Charley Hull, currently ranked No. 4 in the Rolex Rankings, had another close call at a major – finished T-2 at the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month. It marked her fourth career runner-up finish at a major. She is one of two players to debut on the LPGA Tour since 1980 and have as many as five second-place finishes in majors and no victories. World Golf Hall-of-Famer Ayako Okamoto, who had six runners-up in major championship play, is the other.
Charley Hull shot 65-67 (132) over the final two rounds of the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open – matching the lowest score over the final two that championship. Meg Mallon who 67-65 over the final two rounds en route to winning the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open at Orchards Golf Club in Massachusetts.
Since 2000, the only players representing England to win a major championship are Georgia Hall (2018 Ricoh Women’s British Open) and Karen Stupples (2004 Weetabix Women’s British Open). The last to win on American soil was Alison Nicholas at the 1997 U.S. Women’s Open. The last to win this championship was Laura Davies, who won the then-McDonald’s LPGA Championship in 1996.
Over the last three majors, Hull finished T-2 at the 2025 AIG Women’s Open, T-10 at the 2026 Chevron Championship, and T-2 at the U.S. Women’s Open. No other player finished among the Top 10 in all three competitions. Since 2020, only two players have forged four consecutive Top 10 finishes in majors: Jeeno Thitikul (4, 2022-2023) and Inbee Park (4, 2020-2021).
LOTTIE WOAD
England’s Lottie Woad, currently ranked No. 5 in the world, was a short putt away from winning her third official LPGA Tour event last weekend at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, ultimately losing in a playoff to Miyu Yamashita.
Woad is currently 1.93M in career official earnings and will have a chance to surpass the 2M mark this week, in just her 22nd official start on the LPGA.
The fastest players in Tour history, in terms of starts, to reach 2M in career official earnings are Miyu Yamashita (16), Rio Takeda (17), Sung Hyun Park (19), and Jeeno Thitikul (23).
RUONING YIN
China’s Ruoning Yin is coming into this championship red hot, having finished among the Top 10 in each of her last four official starts: T-2 at the Chevron Championship, runner-up at the Mizuho Americas Open, 4th at the Kroger Queen City Championship and T-8 at the U.S. Women’s Open. It is the longest streak of her career – and the second-longest active streak of Top 10s in regular stroke play events behind only Nelly Korda (9 straight Top 10s, dating back to last year’s CME Group Tour Championship).
Having won the 2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Yin is in position to become the first player from China to win multiple major titles. Shanshan Feng is the only other Chinese national to win a major (2012 Wegman’s LPGA Championship).
MIYU YAMASHITA
Japan’s Miyu Yamashita is coming off her third career LPGA Tour victory last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give in addition to coming off a 2025 season in which she won the Rookie of the Year and finished second to Jeeno Thitikul in the Race to CME Globe. She also won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open, becoming the first rookie to win a major since countrywoman Yuka Saso won the 2021 U.S. Open. Players representing Japan have won four of the last 12 major championships. The only other countries with more than one major over this span are USA (3) and Australia (2).
Needing just 37 official LPGA starts, Yamashita is the fastest Japanese to reach three career wins, ahead of Nasa Hataoka (47) and Ayaka Okamoto (54).
MINJEE LEE
Minjee Lee won the Rolex Annika Major Award in 2025, having the best overall performance across all five major championships. She won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at PGA Frisco before finishing T-3 at the Amundi Evian Championship.
Her worst major championship performance in 2025 was at the U.S. Open, at which she tied for 22nd. Overall, she was 19-under par over all five majors in 2025, far ahead of the second best aggregate score of 10-under by Angel Yin.
LYDIA KO
Having won 23 career official LPGA events, including eight over the last five years, 29-year-old Lydia Ko is looking for her first victory in 2026. Ko has won three major championships in her Hall-of-Fame career, but only one in the last 10 seasons (2015 Evian Championship, 2016 Ana Inspiration and 2024 AIG Women’s Open).
Ko will be playing in her 14th KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week. She has two Top 10 finishes at this championship: third in 2014 at Monroe Golf Club and runner-up to Brooke Henderson at Sahalee Country Club in 2016.
Earlier this year, Ko shot an opening round 60 at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass. It was the ninth 60 or lower in LPGA history and the first since Lucy Li shot 60 in the third round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G.
Ko missed the cut at this year’s Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open. It is just the second time in her career that she missed the cut in consecutive majors, having done that in 2019 at the Amundi Evian Championship and AIG Women’s Open. She has
never missed the cut in each of three consecutive major championship starts.
HANNAH GREEN
Hannah Green won the 2019 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, by one stroke over Sung Hyun Park at Hazeltine National Golf Club. She became the third Australian golfer to win this championship, joining Jan Stephenson (1982) and Karrie Webb (2001). Minjee Lee became the fourth Australian to win this championship when she won last year in Frisco, Texas.
Green had a true wire-to-wire victory in 2019, holding an outright lead at the end of all four rounds. She led by one shot after the first round; increased her lead to three by the end of the second round; held a one-shot lead entering the final round and held on for a one-shot victory over Sung Hyun Park. It was only the sixth true wire to wire victory in the history of this championship:
- Mickey Wright 1958
- Mickey Wright 1961
- Judy Kimball 1962
- Yani Tseng 2011
- Hannah Green 2019
- In Gee Chun 2022
