7 Players to Watch at The KPMG Women's PGA Championship

The LPGA Tour's major season continues this week at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in the State of Washington. Vijay Singh won the men's PGA Championship here back in 1998, while it was Brooke Henderson who triumphed in a playoff over Lydia Ko when this event first made its way to this corner of the northwestern United States.

We still have the Evian and Women's Open in St Andrews ahead later in the summer, but this is the final chance this year for a player to win a major championship on American soil.

Naturally, world number one Nelly Korda is the favourite and eyes will be on her following a surprise missed cut at the US Open, but it would be no shock if the champion of 2021 rebounds from that disappointment and secures her third major title.

Here are some names that we're looking out for as the world's best gather for the Women's PGA.

Nelly Korda

It would be remiss not to mention Korda, who made headlines for winning five consecutive events earlier in the season, with a sixth coming in seven electrifying starts on the LPGA Tour. However, more recently, the 25-year-old has missed two successive cuts, including at the US Women's Open.

Returning to a championship that she won three years ago in Atlanta, the American will be expecting a far better week.

Lilia Vu

If this season has belonged to Korda, last year's story was that of Lilia Vu, who won four times with two majors among them. 2024 had been significantly quieter before last weekend when Vu defeated Lexi Thompson and Grace Kim to secure the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Lexi Thompson

Speaking of Thompson, who will step away from the game at the end of this current campaign, her showing in Michigan was a reminder that on her day she can still compete at the highest level. While a valedictory major championship victory would almost seem too good to be true, the Solheim Cup stalwart retains the ability to appear on the leaderboard at some point.

Atthaya Thitikul

The LPGA Tour's Rookie of the Year in 2022, Thitikul has been the model of consistency in recent weeks, posting top-ten finishes in four consecutive appearances, while the 21-year-old Thai star already has seven top tens to her name in major championships.

Linn Grant

Yet to prominently feature in the biggest events, the Swede will be glowing after her dramatic triumph at the Scandinavian Mixed, which she won for a second time after a closing round of 65 was enough to surpass compatriot Sebastian Soderberg, who had a day to forget.

Ruoning Yin

We've got to talk about the defending champion, who claimed victory following a captivating final day at Baltusrol 12 months ago. The world number three from China hasn't won since then, but her results have been generally consistent and it would be no shock to see her post another strong finish in this event.

Yani Tseng

Let's pop into a time machine and head back to 2011 when Yani Tseng won her fifth major in four seasons and was clearly the most successful player on the planet. Her rise was quick and staggering, but so was her decline. Tseng's 15th and most recent LPGA Tour victory came in 2012, which was also the last year when she finished inside the top ten of a major. She hasn't played four rounds in a major since 2017 and had stepped away from the game for a period, but the 35-year-old has made her back this season. Let's see if there's any magic just waiting to be unearthed again.

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