Can she end 125 starts without a win? Choi Hye-jin to retry for LPGA title as Maybank opens on the 29th
Choi Hye-jin, runner-up by 1 stroke in 2 consecutive weeks, will again chase her first LPGA title at the Maybank Championship, which opens on the 29th. Her world ranking rose 6 spots to No. 17.
Translated from Korean with AI assistance. Read the original. Sources and original publication dates are retained.
Three-line summary
- Choi finished 1 stroke behind the winner at the Buick LPGA Shanghai and the BMW Ladies Championship, in 2 consecutive weeks.
- Choi's earnings from the two events total $476,434. Her world ranking rose 6 spots, from No. 23 to No. 17.
- The Maybank Championship, with a $3 million total purse, opens on Oct. 29. Choi returns to try to end her winless run of 125 starts on the LPGA.
125 tournaments competed in, but she has never won. This is Choi Hye-jin (27, Lotte)'s record as an LPGA member. LPGA announced as of the close of the BMW Ladies Championship on Oct. 25. Choi will challenge again for her first win in Malaysia on the 29th. It is the same tournament where she lost in a playoff last year.
From the Maybank playoff to the BMW, two 1-stroke runner-up finishes
The starting point was the same tournament one year earlier. Newspim reported that Choi finished runner-up in 2025 after a playoff with Miyu Yamashita and Hannah Green. At the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Oct. 18 this year, she shot 10 under par at 278 and finished 1-stroke behind winner In Ro-ning (24, China) for sole second place.
A week later, the same scenario played out at the BMW Ladies Championship. Choi shot 16 under par at 272, tied for second with Yoo Hae-ran. She was 1 stroke behind Yoshida Yuri (26, Japan), who shot 17 under par at 271. It was Yoshida's first LPGA win. Even combined across both tournaments, Choi was just 2 strokes from a title.
| Period | Tournament | Choi's results | Title contention |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Maybank Championship | Runner-up after playoff | Playoff with Miyu Yamashita and Hannah Green |
| Oct. 18, 2026 | Buick LPGA Shanghai | 10 under, 278, sole second | 1 stroke behind In Ro-ning |
| Oct. 25, 2026 | BMW Ladies Championship | 16 under, 272, tied for second | 1 stroke behind Yoshida Yuri |
Choi's earnings: $476,434 in 2 weeks... world ranking No. 17
The two runner-up finishes were rewarded in prize money. The Golf News Net tallies show Choi earned $293,410 in Shanghai and $183,024 at the BMW event. Together, $476,434 — just $3,566 short of In Ro-ning's $480,000 Shanghai winner's purse. Yoshida's BMW winner's purse was $352,500.
Based on Yonhap News reporting, Choi's LPGA career earnings were just over $7.2 million before the Shanghai event, the most among winless players. Her world ranking as of the Oct. 26 issue rose 6 spots from No. 23 the previous week to No. 17 (as of 18:00 on Oct. 27, 2026). She is 0.05 points on average behind Yoon I-na directly above her, and 0.09 points ahead of Iwai Akie directly below.
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Average points | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | Lydia Ko | New Zealand | 3.58 | Official ranking sheet not yet reconfirmed |
| 16 | Yoon I-na | South Korea | 3.54 | Cross-checked with SmartBiz report |
| 17 | Choi Hye-jin | South Korea | 3.49 | Confirmed via official index |
| 18 | Iwai Akie | Japan | 3.40 | Official ranking sheet not yet reconfirmed |
| 19 | Lauren Coughlin | United States | 3.30 | Official ranking sheet not yet reconfirmed |
Source: Global Economic world ranking reprint table, confirmed as of 18:00 on Oct. 27, 2026
Maybank Championship total purse $3 million, opening in Kuala Lumpur on the 29th
Choi was born on Aug. 23, 1999, and is 27 years old. After finishing runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Women's Open as an amateur, she turned professional. She won the KLPGA Grand Prize three years in a row from 2018 to 2020 and debuted on the LPGA in 2022. Her domestic wins total 9 official KLPGA regular-tour victories, excluding amateur wins, per KLPGA official criteria. An LPGA 2025 record lists 12 wins.
The next stage is the West Course at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club in Malaysia. According to Newspim and the official LPGA guide, the tournament runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1 local time, with a total purse of $3 million. The official page's $450,000 winner's purse is from 2025, so this year's allocation has not been confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
Q. When will Choi's match take place?
The Maybank Championship, which Choi will play in, runs from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, 2026, local time. The venue is the West Course at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club in Malaysia.
Q. Does Choi have an LPGA win on record?
Not yet. According to the LPGA, through Oct. 25, 2026, she has played 125 tournaments as a member without winning. In Korea, she has 9 official KLPGA regular-tour wins.
Q. How much has Choi earned in prize money?
In her two most recent tournaments, she earned $293,410 and $183,024, for a total of $476,434. Based on Yonhap News reporting, her LPGA career earnings topped $7.2 million before the Shanghai event.
Related official sites
- Maybank Championship LPGA official guide — check schedule, course, and total purse
- LPGA official tournament schedule — check remaining season schedule
- Rolex Women's Golf World Ranking — check weekly world ranking source table
- KLPGA Choi Hye-jin official win record — check domestic official win history
Representative image · Archive photo · Not an on-site photo of the match in this article · Photo=Wikimedia Commons (All-Pro Reels from District of Columbia, USA), CC BY-SA 2.0
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Webeodi editor · View profile and more articles