Women's China Open celebrates 20th anniversary with Chongming debut in Shanghai

The 2026 Women's China Open will tee off at PGA Anying Golf Club on Chongming Island in Shanghai from Oct 9 to 11, marking the 20th edition of the event and its first staging on Chongming Island.

Organized by the China Golf Association, co-hosted by the Shanghai Golf Association, and sanctioned by the China LPGA Tour, the tournament comes shortly after China's golf team made history at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, winning both men's and women's team gold medals for the first time.

As one of the highest-point events on the CLPGA in terms of world rankings, the championship offers 50 official world ranking points and a total purse of 1 million yuan ($149,191). It has drawn 108 players from 12 countries and regions competing in a 54-hole stroke play format.

The 6,704-yard Yangtze Dunes Course — debuting as the tournament venue — features narrow fairways and variable winds typical of links courses, which will test players' driving accuracy, approach skills, and on-course decision-making.

Defending champion Pang Runzhi will bid for her third tour title, while 17-year-old Ren Yijia — the tour's youngest six-time CLPGA winner — chases a record-tying seventh crown. The international field includes Thailand's Nook Sukapan, winner of the 2026 Straits Cup Ladies Classic, and Canadian amateur Shauna Liu, both making their Shanghai tournament debut.

Li Ying, head of strategic promotion at the China Golf Association, said the Asian Games golds marked a new starting point for Chinese golf. The Chongming event will combine elite competition with local culture and ecotourism to bring the sport closer to the public.

Li Hong, managing director of the China LPGA Tour, described the 20-year-old tournament as a key bridge between Chinese women's golf and the global stage, noting it has long been known as a "cradle of women's golf champions".