Women’s PGA Championship 2026 Betting Tips: Four to stop Nelly?

The third women’s major of the season arrives with the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship this week, and the question remains unchanged: can anybody stop Nelly Korda?

Our star LPGA tipster Jamie Worsley is back with four selections to stop the world number one in his Women’s PGA Championship betting tips..

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Our world No. 1 has been in sensational form this year, finishing 1^st or 2^nd in seven of her eight appearances, with her four wins including victories at the first two majors of the season: the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women’s Open.

No player has won three majors in the same season since Inbee Park in 2013 and, alongside Pat Bradley in 1986, they’re the only two to achieve this feat in the last 40 years.

Nelly now has the chance to add her name to that exclusive list, and with a victory also securing her a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame, we’re set for a historic week at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

You can bet on the tournament and check out the latest Women's PGA Championship 2026 Odds over on betfred.com

TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Debuting in 1955 as the LPGA Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is the second-oldest of the five current women’s majors.

Thirteen-time major champion Mickey Wright has won this tournament more than any other player, recording four victories in 1958, 1960, 1961 and 1963.

She is closely followed by a group of six three-time winners: Kathy Whitworth (1967, 1971, 1975), Nancy Lopez (1978, 1985, 1989), Patty Sheehan (1983, 1984, 1993), Annika Sorenstam (2003, 2004, 2005), Se Ri Pak (1998, 2002, 2006) and Inbee Park (2013, 2014, 2015).

Annika Sorenstam and Inbee Park's feat of three straight victories puts them on an exclusive list of just three players, alongside Patty Berg, who won the Titleholders Championship in 1937, 1938 and 1939.

Last five winners:

• 2025 (PGA Frisco)

Winner: Minjee Lee (-4)

Runners-up: Auston Kim, Chanettee Wannasaen (-1)

• 2024 (Sahalee Country Club)

Winner: Amy Yang (-7)

Runners-up: Lilia Vu, Jin Young Ko, Miyu Yamashita (-4)

• 2023 (Baltusrol Golf Club)

Winner: Ruoning Yin (-8)

Runner-up: Yuka Saso (-7)

• 2022 (Congressional Country Club)

Winner: In Gee Chun (-5)

Runners-up: Lexi Thompson, Minjee Lee (-4)

• 2021 (Atlanta Athletic Club)

Winner: Nelly Korda (-19)

Runner-up: Lizette Salas (-16)

Following victories at the 2021 Evian Championship and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, Minjee Lee won her third different major title at PGA Frisco last year. She burst into the lead in round three and never looked back, eventually running out a comfortable three-stroke winner over Auston Kim and Chanette Wannasaen.

THE COURSE

Hazeltine National Golf Club

• Original architect / Year opened: Robert Trent Jones / 1962
• Renovation: Trent Jones’s son, Rees, has overseen a series of renovations and tweaks to the layout since 1988
• Previous tournaments: KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (2019), U.S. Women’s Open (1966, 1977), U.S. Open (1970, 1991), PGA Championship (2002, 2009), Ryder Cup (2016)
• Par / Yardage: Par 72 / 6,760 yards
• Hole breakdown:
  • 4x par 3s (152-178 yards)
  • 10x par 4s (337-429 yards)
  • 4x par 5s (516-568 yards)
• Course style: This long and imposing championship layout is predominantly open and built on moderately undulating terrain, featuring some notable changes in elevation
• Fairways:
  • The narrow, often severely doglegging fairways are tough to navigate
  • Penal, strategically placed bunkers litter the landing areas, whilst thick rough provides further protection
  • While trees don’t form continuous corridors, they are smartly placed to block out angles of attack into the greens, meaning players must position the ball in the correct areas off the tee
• Greens:
  • Averaging 5,000 sq. ft., the fast bentgrass greens are small
  • They’re subtly contoured and often multi-tiered
  • Largely surrounded by punishing rough and deep bunkers, they provide a demanding scrambling test
• Defences:
  • Water is a prominent threat, coming into play on eight holes
  • Alongside the rough, heavy bunkering (108 in total throughout the course) and sharp doglegging holes, this is a seriously challenging test of the long game

Hazeltine National is a formidable major championship layout that, whilst straightforward in design and lacking a little charm, provides an exacting ball-striking challenge.

The collection of par 5s is one of the toughest and longest the players will play all season. Meanwhile, though the par 3s and par 4s may appear gettable on paper, they often carry an element of risk/reward.

Hannah Green won with a score of nine-under-par here back in 2019 and, with the course remaining largely the same since then, we can expect another robust examination this week.

THE WEATHER

Hot and humid conditions in the build-up are expected to bring over 10mm of rain in the days before, which should result in soft conditions to begin.

It is forecast to be largely dry during the tournament itself, and benign over the first two rounds, before the threat of thunderstorms returns over the weekend. This will be accompanied by persistent 15mph winds, gusting at up to 28mph.

KEY STATS

Scrambling

This is a course that tests every aspect of a player’s game, though it was notably those who shone around the greens and with their irons who excelled seven years ago.

Without the benefit of strokes-gained data, we have to rely on traditional stats, but they still paint a clear picture. One in which low GIR numbers required the top contenders to scramble superbly.

• 2019
  • Hannah Green (Winner): 2^nd in scrambling
  • Sung Hyun Park (2^nd): 10^th in scrambling
  • Nelly Korda (3^rd): 7^th in scrambling
  • Lizette Salas (5^th): 4^th in scrambling
  • Danielle Kang (5^th): 12^th in scrambling

SG: Approach / Greens-in-Regulation (GIR)

Of course, avoiding the greenside surrounds is advantageous, with many at the top of the leaderboard also ranking high in GIR.

• 2019
  • Hannah Green (Winner): 6^th in GIR
  • Mel Reid (3^rd): 5^th in GIR
  • Nelly Korda (3^rd): 12^th in GIR
  • Lizette Salas (5^th): 17^th in GIR
  • Danielle Kang (5^th): 17^th in GIR

SG: Off-the-Tee (SG: OTT) and/or Driving Accuracy

The driver wasn’t overly important last time, but strength off the tee is still a clear asset around here. The layout is lengthy but somewhat deceptive, with much of that distance tied up in par 5s that are difficult to reach in two. Combined with the punishment for inaccuracy, it was no surprise to see several short-and-steady types near the top of the leaderboard in 2019.

CORRELATING EVENTS (COURSES)

2016 & 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (Sahalee Country Club)

Sahalee Country Club is a more compact tree-lined course. However, as a lengthy, rolling layout with narrow, doglegging fairways, thick rough, strategic bunkering, and long par 5s, it can act as a helpful guide this week.

In addition, it’s a place where Rees Jones has completed several renovation projects.

2023 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (Baltusrol Golf Club)

Baltusrol is another venue which Rees Jones has tweaked over the years, alongside his father Robert Trent Jones. Although, some of these changes have been erased in following renovations.

Still, this loosely tree-lined venue, with its often tiered, mildly-undulating greens, remains a punishing championship test that closely examines the contenders’ all-round games.

2022 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (Congressional Country Club)

A third recent Women’s PGA Championship host takes me to Congressional. Long, open, and undulating, this is again a layout at which Robert Trent Jones and Rees Jones have made their mark.

With its heavy bunkering and subtly-contoured bentgrass putting surfaces, it’s easy to see why 2019 Hazeltine winner Hannah Green was able to go well here, finishing 5^th in 2022.

2015 & 2024 U.S. Women’s Open (Lancaster Country Club)

Next up is Lancaster Country Club. Whilst still tree-lined, this hilly and lengthy par-70 has been opened up in recent years to improve playing lines. It has narrow, doglegging fairways, speedy bentgrass greens, and deep bunkers that proved extra penal in 2024.

2023 – 2025 Mizuho Americas Open (Liberty National Golf Club)

As an exposed layout with over 100 bunkers, thick rough and small bentgrass greens, Liberty National has many characteristics that players will discover this week. Hannah Green has finished 2^nd there, whilst Nelly Korda, who was 3^rd at Hazeltine in 2019, has won in New Jersey.

2025 & 2026 JM Eagle LA Championship (El Caballero Country Club)

I’m going to head back to the architect angle for my final selection, with El Caballero Country Club. Originally designed by Robert Trent Jones and once again renovated by son Rees, this loosely tree-lined parkland features regular elevation changes, strong bunkering, and fast bentgrass greens.

TOURNAMENT TRENDS (2016-2025)

• Eight of the last 10 winners had previously recorded a top-25 finish in the event
• Seven had produced a top-five in a major
• Eight had recorded a victory on the LPGA
• Only three had a prior win in that calendar year
• Eight had a top-25 finish across their last three appearances
• Only one came into the event after a top-10 finish on their latest start

THE FIELD

This week’s field includes 24 of the world’s top 25 and 45 of the top 50. Nelly Korda remains the world No. 1, with Jeeno Thitikul (No. 2), Hyo Joo Kim (No. 3), Charley Hull (No. 4) and Lottie Woad (No. 5) rounding out the top five.

Minjee Lee will defend at Hazeltine, and she is one of 12 former winners in attendance, alongside Amy Yang (2024), Ruoning Yin (2023), In Gee Chun (2022), Nelly Korda (2021), Sei Young Kim (2020), Hannah Green (2019), Sung Hyun Park (2018), Danielle Kang (2017), Brooke Henderson (2016), Yani Tseng (2011, 2008), and Anna Nordqvist (2009).

The leading player on the Ladies European Tour in 2025, Shannon Tan, receives an entry, as does the second-ranked player on the JLPGA Tour, Shiho Kuwaki. There are also spots for the top eight finishers at the 2025 LPGA Professionals National Championship.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders (1/4, 5 places): Nelly Korda 10/3, Jeeno Thitikul 12/1, Ruoning Yin 14/1, Hannah Green 18/1, Hyo Joo Kim 18/1, Miyu Yamashita 18/1

A price of 10/3 about Nelly Korda doesn’t feel wholly unfair considering her strike rate this year and she certainly entered my thinking.

That said, there’s a reason so few players have achieved what she’s about to attempt this week, and with her superb form pushing out some high-class players to appealing prices, I’m going to take her on with an elite quartet of challengers in Minnesota.

4 pts Jeeno Thitikul Win Only @ 14/1

Having opened at 11/1 for the Chevron Championship and 9/1 for the U.S. Women’s Open, I was immediately interested in the world’s second-best player, Jeeno Thitikul, at this increased price.

It’s easy to forget, but the Thai superstar began this year as the world No. 1 thanks to a terrific end to 2025, finishing inside the top seven in each of her last six appearances and winning twice.

Recording victories at the Honda LPGA Thailand and Mizuho Americas Open during this campaign, Thitikul has done little wrong in 2026; she's just been blown away by the indomitable brilliance of Korda. As has everyone.

A missed cut at the Chevron Championship and a 28^th-place finish at the U.S. Women's Open in the first two majors represents the one blot on her record, but there's no doubt she has the game to put that right at Hazeltine.

She’s gaining strokes in each area this season, though it’s with the driver she has excelled, combining power and accuracy to rank 22^nd in SG: OTT. Few players are finding more greens, sitting 4^th in GIR and, while her scrambling numbers are a touch lower, this is an area in which she’s placed inside the top 30 throughout her pro career.

Thitikul has finished 7^th or better in each of the five majors, which includes a pair of 4^th-places at this event. The first of those came at the correlating Congressional in 2022 and, with her victory at Liberty National in 2025 also boding well, I expect her to again contend for a major breakthrough this week.

2.5 pts Hyo Joo Kim each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 18/1

There are few players who have gotten the better of Nelly Korda this year, but after consigning her to the runner-up spot two weeks on the spin back in March, Hyo Joo Kim has done so more than once. She’s playing better than ever in 2026 and, performing well here in 2019, she can end her 12-year wait for major title No. 2 at Hazeltine.

Kim’s first win of the season came at the Founders Cup, where she beat Korda into 2^nd place by one shot and she doubled that margin the following week, taking the Ford Championship by two.

She enjoyed a positive start to major season, finishing 6^th at the Chevron Championship, and whilst she again showed winning form on a rare trip home to Korea, she will have to bounce back from a missed cut at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Gaining strokes in each area, she ranks 2^nd in SG: Total on the LPGA in 2026. The driver has been a real asset, sitting 2^nd in driving accuracy and 19^th in SG: OTT. Alongside being 9^th in scrambling and 20^th in SG: Approach, her tee-to-green profile really stands out for this challenge.

Despite her lack of power off the tee, Kim’s pin-point accuracy helped her to a 7^th-place finish here back in 2019. She was then 5^th at Congressional in 2022, and having also recorded top-20s at Baltusrol, Sahalee and Lancaster Country Club in the last three years, her major credentials could see her strike a knockout blow in Minnesota.

1 pt Maja Stark each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 70/1

Hitting the top 25 in each of her last four appearances, Maja Stark arrives in Minnesota in excellent form. She’s shining from tee-to-green, and with her putting also beginning to look up, she can build on that to claim a second major title this week.

Stark was an impressive break-out major winner in 2025, converting a 54-hole lead to claim the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills. The Swede struggled for form thereafter, but has responded positively this campaign, missing just one cut in nine outings.

Her form has moved up a gear since the start of major season. She kicked off this period with a 21^st-place finish at the Chevron Championship, following with a 25^th at the Mizuho Americas Open and 16^th at the Kroger Queen City Championship, before producing a strong defence of her U.S. Women’s Open trophy at Riviera, finishing 8^th.

Her long game was on point there, though it was on the greens where she really caught the eye, ranking 9^th in SG: Putting, despite sitting 143^rd in this category for the season. She’s scrambling superbly, ranking 12^th, and when combined with ball-striking stats of 15^th in GIR, 35^th in driving accuracy, 35^th in SG: OTT, and 40^th in SG: Approach, we have a player who is firing on all cylinders at present.

Stark didn’t play here in 2019, nor does she have an abundance of comp form. However, as a player who has finished inside the top 20 in five of her seven U.S. Women’s Open starts, this rigorous major challenge should hold no fear.

1 pt In Gee Chun each-way (1/4 -5 places) @ 80/1

In Gee Chun maintained her encouraging form this season when selected for the Meijer LPGA Classic, finishing 12^th. As a three-time major winner, she’s more than accustomed to performing in this environment and she looks well worth sticking with at Hazeltine.

Following a challenging couple of seasons, Chun has taken a noticeable step forward in 2026. She was 5^th at the Ford Championship on her second appearance of the season, and prior to last week’s effort at Blythefield Country Club she had recorded consecutive finishes of 21^st at the Kroger Queen City Championship, 29^th at the ShopRite LPGA, and 4^th at the U.S. Women’s Open.

It’s the tee-to-green game that is thriving this campaign, ranking 13^th on the LPGA. She’s scrambling particularly well, ranking 7^th, and also sitting in or around the top 50 in GIR, SG: Approach, driving accuracy and SG: OTT, everything appears to be coming together at just the right time.

Chun’s first major win came at Lancaster Country Club in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open, and following a victory in the Evian in 2016, she then won her third at Congressional in the 2022 KPMG Women’s PGA. She was a solid 30^th here back in 2019 when completely lacking in form, and with her game now in a much better place, she can improve considerably this time around.