The GIST: The world’s best women’s golfers are set to compete in the Pacific Northwest for the 70th KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third of five LPGA majors. The tournament will begin at the Sahalee Country Club tomorrow with a prize purse of over $10.4M up for grabs.
The context: The Olympic qualification period concludes after this event, giving players a final opportunity to earn a spot in the 60-player field heading to Paris next month. The International Golf Federation uses the official world golf rankings to determine Olympics eligibility, with the top 15 players securing automatic qualification.
This guarantees the presence of world No. 1 Nelly Korda, defending KPMG Women’s PGA champion world No. 3 Ruoning Yin, and world No. 5 Hannah Green in Paris. The big question remains: who else will make the cut?
More players to watch: Japan’s Ayaka Furue, ranked No. 20 globally, leads the LPGA with eight top-10 finishes this season. A strong performance this weekend could earn her Japan’s second Olympic spot, alongside two-time U.S. Women’s Open winner and world No. 6 Yuka Saso.
As for World No. 13 Canadian Brooke Henderson, the stars seem to be aligning for the 2016 Women’s PGA champion. She is determined to make her mark once again on the same course where she claimed her first major victory eight years ago. Let the games begin.
