World No. 3 Ryu Hae-ran to face No. 1 Nelly Korda at LPGA Annika event

by Chough Yong-jik

Published : Nov. 11, 2026 - 09:02:22

Choi Hye-jin, Yun I-na, Hwang Yu-min also in the field; McIlroy faces Rahm on DP World Tour

World No. 3 Ryu Hae-ran (left), who has won two majors this season, and world No. 1 Nelly Korda, returning after skipping the Asian Swing, will face off at the LPGA Annika Driven By Gainbridge. [LPGA Tour official website]

World No. 3 Ryu Hae-ran will go head-to-head with world No. 1 Nelly Korda in the title race this week. Korda's return from a break since September's Solheim Cup is expected to sharpen competition in the final stretch of the LPGA Tour season.

The 2026 Annika Driven By Gainbridge tees off Friday (Korean Standard Time) and runs for four days. Ryu carried momentum into the event after finishing tied for second at last month's BMW Ladies Championship. Ryu will be chasing a first win in roughly four months since her victory at the Amundi Evian Championship in July.

The marquee matchup of the week is Ryu against Korda, who skipped the Asian Swing and is making her first LPGA Tour start in about two months. Fellow South Koreans Choi Hye-jin, Yun I-na and Hwang Yu-min are also in contention.

Rory McIlroy tees it up at the DP World Tour season finale. [DP World Tour official website]

On the men's side, the 2026 DP World Tour Championship — the season finale — gets underway Thursday and runs for four days. The top 50 players in the Race to Dubai standings are in the field, with a $10 million purse and 12,000 season points on the line.

Season leader Eugenio Chacarra and second-ranked Rory McIlroy are battling for the title, while Jon Rahm is looking to overturn the standings. Rahm climbed to sixth in the rankings after winning the Abu Dhabi ADNOC Championship the previous week. The final leaderboard could reshape the season championship race.

Both tournaments will be broadcast live in their entirety on Spotv Now Golf.

yjc@heraldcorp.com