The LPGA Tour makes its annual stop in South Korea this week with some of its top-ranked golfers.

The LPGA Hana Bank Championship will take place from Friday to Sunday at the par-72 Ocean Course of the Sky72 Golf Club in Incheon, just west of Seoul. This is the 10th edition of the only LPGA Tour event in South Korea each year.

Two-time defending champion Choi Na-yeon is among the field of 69 players at the three-round competition with no cut. Since the event was inaugurated in 2002 under a different corporate sponsorship, South Koreans have won seven of the nine tournaments.

The winner will earn $270,000.

World No. 1 Yani Tseng will look to foil Choi’s bid for a third consecutive title. Tseng, a 22-year-old from Taiwan, has won five times in 2011, including two of the LPGA’s four major championships.

The tournament has consistently attracted top-10 caliber players, and this year is no exception. The field this week also features Suzann Pettersen and Cristie Kerr, ranked second and third in the world, plus fan favorite Michelle Wie, a Korean-American youngster known for her prodigious length off the tee.

Shin Ji-yai, former No. 1 player, is returning from a back injury and is making her first appearance in more than a month.

South Korean players have dominated the LPGA Tour in recent years, but only one Korean has notched a win so far this year. Ryu So-yeon edged compatriot Seo Hee-kyung at the U.S. Women’s Open in July. 

(Yonhap News)