Lee Dong-eun, who will compete as a rookie on the LPGA Tour in 2026, ranked first in driving distance on the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour this year with an average of 261.05 yards. Hwang Yu-min, who will also debut on the LPGA Tour next year, recorded 252.48 yards to rank sixth in driving distance. Both players established themselves as the KLPGA Tour's premier long hitters.
However, if Lee's 261.05 yards were applied directly to the LPGA Tour driving distance rankings, it would place her between 74th-ranked Katsuki Minami of Japan (260.89 yards) and 73rd-ranked Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand (261.09 yards). Hwang's 252.48 yards would rank just slightly above 115th-placed Yan Jing of China (252.37 yards) and slightly below 114th-ranked Azahara Munoz of Spain (252.69 yards).
But the two players are unlikely to rank that low. The average driving distance gap between the KLPGA Tour and LPGA Tour is significant. Not a single Korean player who moved from the domestic tour to the LPGA has ever seen their driving distance decrease.
Yoon I-na, Korea's only LPGA rookie this year, clearly demonstrates this pattern. Last year, Yoon ranked second in KLPGA Tour driving distance at 254.98 yards. Lee was right behind in third place (254.14 yards), followed by Hwang in fourth (253.76 yards).
This year, Yoon averaged 272.94 yards on the LPGA Tour to rank 13th. The difference between last year and this year is 17.96 yards.
So where might Lee and Hwang rank in LPGA driving distance next year? While their exact distances cannot be predicted, comparing the driving distances of Korean women golfers in their LPGA rookie year versus their final KLPGA year provides a useful reference.
KLPGA Tour players who joined the LPGA Tour before Yoon also showed clear distance differences between the two tours within a year.
Lee So-mi averaged 244.63 yards (22nd) on the KLPGA Tour in 2023, then hit 259.04 yards (84th) after moving to the LPGA Tour in 2024. The difference between tours was 14.41 yards.
Ryu Hae-ran, the 2023 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year, ranked 57th in driving distance that year with 259.95 yards. The previous year on the KLPGA Tour, she hit 244.60 yards to rank 19th in driving distance. While her ranking dropped, her average distance actually increased by 15.35 yards.
Kim A-rim, Korea's premier long hitter who became an LPGA Tour rookie in 2021, showed a similar pattern. That year, Kim hit 276.76 yards on the LPGA Tour to rank fifth in driving distance. In 2020, when she ranked first on the KLPGA Tour, she averaged 259.51 yards. The gap between tours was 17.25 yards.
Based on comparisons over recent years, a distance adjustment of approximately 15 yards between the KLPGA Tour and LPGA Tour appears appropriate.
Applying this adjustment, Lee's projected distance for next year would be 276.05 yards, while Hwang's would be 267.48 yards. If these distances were applied to this year's LPGA Tour driving distance rankings, Lee would fall between seventh-ranked Madison Young of the United States (275.12 yards) and sixth-ranked Emily Kristine Pedersen of Denmark (276.42 yards). This is comparable to world No. 2 Nelly Korda of the United States, who ranked eighth in driving distance (274.58 yards).
Hwang's projected distance would place her slightly above 35th-ranked Amy Yang (266.08 yards) and slightly below 34th-ranked Takeda Rio of Japan (267.72 yards). This is similar to world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, who ranked 33rd in driving distance (267.78 yards).
Three Korean players ranked within the top 20 in LPGA Tour driving distance this year: Yoon I-na at 13th, Kim A-rim at 11th (273.32 yards), and Ryu Hae-ran at 19th (270.05 yards). With KLPGA's premier long hitters Lee Dong-eun and Hwang Yu-min joining in 2026, Korea's long-driving dominance is set to grow even stronger.
