Choi Hye-jin, Ryu Hae-ran and Kim Sei-young (from left) attend the official pre-tournament press conference at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Jeolla Province. [Photo = BMW Ladies Championship Organizing Committee]
Choi Hye-jin, Ryu Hae-ran and Kim Sei-young (from left) attend the official pre-tournament press conference at Pine Beach Golf Links in Haenam, South Jeolla Province. [Photo = BMW Ladies Championship Organizing Committee]

Overcome the elements.

That is the challenge facing players at the BMW Ladies Championship (purse: $2.35 million), South Korea's only LPGA Tour event, which teed off Thursday at Pine Beach Golf Links (par 72) in Haenam, South Jeolla Province. With Typhoon Champi tracking northward and threatening to bring rain over the weekend, conditions are expected to be far from straightforward.

Pine Beach Golf Links is shaped by the ria coastline that surrounds it. The course is a classic links layout where players must fire shots over the sea, meaning ocean winds are a constant factor even in calm weather. Should Champi bring gale-force gusts and heavy rain together, the difficulty of the course is expected to spike sharply.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration and international weather monitoring networks, Typhoon Champi may pass through the southwestern sea or track northeast via waters near Jeju. Forecasters warn that as the tournament moves into its weekend rounds, the Haenam area could see peak gusts exceeding 15 to 20 meters per second alongside heavy rainfall.

The LPGA Tour's competition committee and the tournament organizing committee have both moved to emergency-response footing. A tournament official said the organizing committee is monitoring Typhoon Champi's path around the clock and that all contingency scenarios are on the table — including a temporary suspension of play, a reduction to 54 holes, or the use of a Monday reserve day if weather deteriorates.

The weather variable is expected to shape players' winning strategies as well. A field of 84 top-ranked golfers will compete in a 72-hole stroke-play format with no cut, led by defending champion Kim Sei-young along with Ryu Hae-ran, Choi Hye-jin, Yoon I-na, Kim Min-sol and Seo Gyo-rim.

At the official press conference held Wednesday — the day before the tournament opened — players were unanimous in flagging concern about the wind. The course's signature 15th hole (par 3), which requires a tee shot across open water, and other holes hugging the coastal cliffs are seen as the pivotal tests. Sudden gusts from the typhoon could undermine club selection and make controlling ball flight extremely difficult.

"Pine Beach is a coastal course, so there's a lot of wind when you play here," Kim Sei-young said. "The wind was blowing at about 20 miles per hour today, and the practice round I did in strong winds on Thursday should be a big help when it counts. The wind should ease a little Friday and Saturday, so we should be able to settle into a proper scoring battle, but it looks like the wind will pick up again over the weekend. The strong winds in Haenam are a major hurdle every player has to get through."

Choi Hye-jin, who finished runner-up at last week's Buick LPGA Shanghai, said scores varied widely depending on the weather last year as well. "The conditions will be different every day, so I plan to adjust my approach to match whatever the course gives me," she said. "When the weather is good, I'll go after distance aggressively; when the wind picks up, I'll focus on managing my score steadily."

Kim Min-sol said she played about nine holes in the wind and felt the headwind particularly hard on the 15th. "Being right next to the sea, it seems to catch the wind even more," she said. "I decided I shouldn't try to fight the wind too hard — the smarter play is to work the course intelligently."

Such conditions can traditionally favor veterans with precise shot-making and strong trajectory control. But unpredictable gusts can shake up the leaderboard in an instant. Players who excel at hitting low punch shots and saving par when they miss greens are expected to contend at the top.


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