Blythefield Country Club saw an exciting display of golf last week. The community witnessed a three-way playoff between Grace Kim, Lexi Thompson, and Lilia Vu taking place in Belmont, with the latter emerging victorious. The LPGA Tour now moves on to its next event, the third major of the season, at Sahalee Country Club, where the excitement is sure to transcend boundaries. The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will kick off soon on June 20 in Washington and will find its champ on Sunday, June 23.

The athletes will surely aim to clinch the title as well as a cut of the prize money that is set aside for the event. But as in every tournament, only one can emerge victorious at the event while being crowned the third major champion of 2024. Who could it be?

Top picks for the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

A total of 156 golfers will be teeing it up for the third major of the season, as per the official field set by the event. The tournament will see the likes of previous champions and winners of various LPGA Tour events, along with the Corebridge Financial Team, the last of which comprises eight PGA of America and LPGA pros. While the contest will have a lot of known faces, the community is sure to have some favorites.

1. Ruoning Yin: The Chinese athlete clinched the title of champion in the 2023 edition of the major. She scored a figure of 8 under 276 while raking in the winner’s cut of $1.5 million from the prize purse of $10 million. Although she hasn’t raked in any other wins after her first major victory, the golfer has managed to finish a total of two times in the top 10 from 12 starts. She did so with a T4 at the Cognizant Founders Cup and a T8 at the FIR Hills Seri Pak Championship. Regardless of her recent performance, the current No. 3 in the world rankings will surely look to defend her title at the upcoming event.

2. Nelly Korda: She is, without a doubt, the most celebrated woman golfer at the moment. Although the 25-year-old missed the cut for her last two events at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and the U.S. Women’s Open, she is yet to be defeated when it comes to the number of wins in 2024. The golfer has a total of seven top-10 finishes, including six victories from 10 starts. Underestimating her would be the worst thing a fellow athlete could do.

3. Ayaka Furue: The Japanese golfer is the only person to have beaten the current No. 1 in the world when it comes to top-10 finishes. She has raked in the same in a total of 8 placements from 14 events, the best of which came at the ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer, where she finished T2. The pro will surely be looking to clinch her second LPGA Tour title as well as her first major win at the upcoming KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

4. Lilia Vu, the current No. 2 in the world, will be hoping to take a step closer to regaining her top spot on the Rolex Rankings by winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Out of the eight starts she made this season, the American has garnered a total of two top-10 finishes, the best of which was her victory at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. The 5-time LPGA Tour champ would surely look to increase her tally of major victories to three at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. He is surely a golfer to look out for on the greens.

5. Hannah Green: The Australian pro is the only golfer in the current season, aside from Korda, to have won more than once on Tour. She did so at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro and at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. Aside from the two wins, the golfer also had a T2 finish at the Mizuho Americas Open, and she would be gearing up to exhibit another dominant display of golf in the upcoming event at Sahalee Country Club.

The third major poses a test for golfers in Sammamish

The par-72, 6731-yard course was designed by renowned architect Ted Robinson in 1969 and was later redeveloped by Rees Jones in 1996. It is a 27-hole layout that consists of three 9-hole courses of equal caliber, namely the North, South, and East courses.

The course has consistently been ranked as one of America’s greatest courses and has been known for hosting various tournaments, including the 1998 PGA Championship, the 2002 World Golf Championship, and the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, among others. Well, the course, which is carved out of the tall, majestic Cedar and Douglas Fir trees, will surely pose a challenge to the field of professionals, including Celine Boutier, Charley Hull, Lexi Thompson, and others who are aiming to take home the title of champ at the major.