Defending champion Miyuu Yamashita, World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul and former winner Ruoning Yin will headline a strong international field at the Maybank Championship 2026.
The fourth edition of the LPGA Tour event will be held at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) from 29 October to 1 November, with players competing for the Tiger Trophy and a US$3 million prize purse.
Yamashita will return to Malaysia seeking to become the tournament’s first back-to-back champion. The Japanese Major winner claimed last year’s title following a three-way playoff and has continued her strong form this season.
She recorded a dominant nine-stroke victory at the CPKC Women’s Open in Canada in August before winning the Sony JLPGA Championship in a playoff in September.
Thailand’s Thitikul will make her fourth consecutive appearance at the tournament after narrowly missing out on the title in previous editions. She has won three LPGA Tour events in 2026, taking her career total to 10.
China’s Yin, the 2024 Maybank Championship winner, also returns after capturing the FM Championship in August.
Another leading contender is South Korea’s Haeran Ryu, who is second in the LPGA Tour’s Race to the CME Globe standings after winning consecutive Majors at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Amundi Evian Championship.
Three-time Major winner Lydia Ko will add further strength to the field. The New Zealander, who is also the reigning Olympic champion, was inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2024 at the age of 27.
Australians Hannah Green and South Korea’s Hye-Jin Choi, who joined Yamashita in last year’s playoff, will return for another opportunity to claim the title.
The field also includes 2023 champion Céline Boutier of France, who defeated Thitikul in a nine-hole playoff during the inaugural edition of the tournament.
England’s Lottie Woad and Charley Hull, together with Japanese twins Akie and Chisato Iwai, are among the other leading international players confirmed for the championship.
Five Malaysians in the field
Malaysia will be represented by Liyana Durisic, Mirabel Ting, Jeneath Wong, Natasha Oon and Kelly Tan.
Liyana Durisic of Malaysia
Durisic secured her place through the Maybank Championship ASEAN Qualifier, held over 36 holes at KLGCC’s West Course in August. She claimed the fifth qualifying spot after finishing at one-under-par 143.
She enters the championship in strong form after winning four PGM Tour titles in 2026, as well as the Women’s World Sand Greens Championship in Australia in March.
Ting, Wong, Oon and Tan will compete through sponsor invitations.
Ting secured two Epson Tour victories during her first full season as a professional, moved to the top of the Race for the Card standings, and earned her LPGA Tour card for 2027.
The 2025 Annika Award winner also holds the record for the best finish by a Malaysian at the Maybank Championship after placing tied for 12th as an amateur in 2024.
Wong, Malaysia’s highest-ranked female amateur at World No. 59, will return with an increasingly strong international résumé.
She became the first Malaysian to win the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship in 2025, earning starts in several Major championships. She had previously qualified for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open.
Oon will make her first Maybank Championship appearance since 2023. The former Epson Tour winner and 2023 Epson Tour Rookie of the Year is rebuilding her momentum after an injury kept her out for much of the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Completing the Malaysian line-up is two-time Olympian Tan, the country’s most successful LPGA Tour player.
Tan recorded her best LPGA Tour results with runner-up finishes at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational in 2022 and 2023. She will make her third appearance at the Maybank Championship, bringing more than a decade of professional experience and extensive knowledge of KLGCC’s West Course.
ASEAN qualifiers earn their places
Five Southeast Asian players earned invitations through the Maybank Championship ASEAN Qualifier, which provides a merit-based route into the LPGA Tour event.
Thai professional Pimnipa Panthong finished tied at the top of the qualifier at four-under-par 140 alongside compatriots Sarisa Pojanalai and Achiraya Sriwong. Sriwong, who competed in the qualifier as an amateur, has since turned professional.
ASEAN Qualifiers
Thai amateur Marisa Tojai secured the fourth qualifying place at two-under-par 142, while Durisic completed the group at one-under 143.
Introduced in 2024, the ASEAN Qualifier gives leading regional players an opportunity to compete against established international professionals at the Maybank Championship.
Tickets for the Maybank Championship 2026 are now on sale through the tournament’s official website.
