World No. 3 Kim Hyo-joo to lead Korean contingent at LPGA major in California

Kim Hyo-joo, world No. 3 in women's golf with two LPGA titles this season, will lead the Korean contingent at the second major tournament of the year this week in California.

Kim will be one of 23 Korean players in the field of 156 at the 81st U.S. Women's Open at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, near Los Angeles, starting Thursday.

She is one of four players to win multiple times this LPGA season. World No. 1 Nelly Korda has won three times, while Kim, second-ranked Jeeno Thitikul and fifth-ranked Hannah Green have won two tournaments apiece.

Korda, who won the season's first major, the Chevron Championship, in April, is also the leader in the Player of the Year points with 159, and Kim is in second place with 79 points. Players earn 30 points for a tournament victory but 60 points for a major title.

Kim also trails Korda in scoring average, 68.15 to 68.92. Korda has had a dominant season so far, recording three wins and three runner-up finishes in her first six starts. She then finished tied for eighth in her seventh tournament last month.

Kim has not played an LPGA event since the Chevron Championship, where she ended sixth. After winning a KLPGA tournament in early May, Kim reiterated her goal of winning her second career major title this year, following her Evian Championship victory in 2014.

The Korean group this week includes four U.S. Women's Open champions: Chun In-gee, Park Sung-hyun, Lee Jeong-eun and Kim A-lim.

Former world No. 1 Shin Ji-yai, who now plays in Japan, and KLPGA stars Yoo Hyun-jo, Ko Ji-won and Kim Min-sol — all of whom have won this season — will also tee off at the par-71, 6,699-yard Riviera.

Maja Stark of Sweden will try to become the first to win back-to-back U.S. Women's Open titles since Karrie Webb in 2000-01.

Yonhap