Mercedes-Benz Korea co-hosts 40th Korea Women's Open

A promotional poster for Mercedes-Benz Korea's 40th Korea Women's Open Golf Championship. Courtresy of Mercedes-Benz Korea

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Thursday it will co-host the Mercedes-Benz 40th Korea Women's Open Golf Championship with the Korea Golf Association from June 11 to 14 at Lakewood Country Club in Yangju, Gyeonggi province, under a three-year title sponsorship agreement running through 2028.

The Korea Women's Open, which held its inaugural edition in 1987, is the country's most prestigious national women's golf title.

With Mercedes-Benz Korea's entry as title sponsor, the total prize purse has been raised to 1.5 billion won ($1 million), with the winner's share set at 400 million won — the largest first-place prize in the history of Korean women's professional golf.

The champion will also receive automatic berths in the AIG Women's Open, one of women's golf's five major championships, and the Japan Women's Open Golf Championship.

Defending champion Lee Dong-eun, who is competing on the LPGA Tour this season, is among the notable entrants. Mercedes-Benz Korea brand ambassadors Park Hyun-kyung and Kim Min-byeol will also join the field.

Former world No. 1 Shin Ji-yai, a two-time Women's British Open champion, is returning to the Korea Women's Open for the first time in 18 years after her 2008 victory, a return expected to draw significant fan attention.

The winner will receive a Mercedes-Benz vehicle along with a specially designed champion's jacket created in collaboration with luxury golf apparel brand Boss Golf. The winner's caddie will receive a one-year Mercedes-Benz vehicle lease, and hole-in-one prizes on all par-3 holes will be Mercedes-Benz E-Class and CLE models.

All four rounds of the tournament will be broadcast live on SBS Golf, with select coverage shown on SBS terrestrial television.

"It is an honor for Mercedes-Benz to open a new chapter of the Korea Women's Open, a competition that has produced countless legends and become a source of pride for Korean golf over 40 years," said Mathias Vaitl, president and chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Korea.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.