Yoon Ina, 23, a rising talent on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, is joining WTGL, a screen golf league in the United States.
According to golf industry sources on the 23rd, Yoon is included in the WTGL roster set to be announced sometime next week. Ahead of the announcement, reports said Yoon had been placed on one of the five teams and would be the only Korean player in WTGL. Her management company confirmed the reports, saying she is indeed joining the league.
WTGL is the women's counterpart to TGL. TMRW Sports, led by Tiger Woods of the United States and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, launched TGL — a screen golf competition featuring PGA Tour players — in January last year. In the new format, players hit tee shots in front of a screen, while short game and putting take place on a realistically built green and its surroundings. Like TGL, WTGL is expected to run mainly during periods that do not overlap with the LPGA Tour schedule.
Interest grew over who would join after the LPGA Tour announced early this year that it would host WTGL matches with TMRW Sports starting from the 2026-2027 season.
To date, 14 WTGL players have been made known through the LPGA Tour and other channels: Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand, Charley Hull of England, Minjee Lee of Australia, Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Lottie Woad of England, Brooke Henderson of Canada, Andrea Lee of the United States, Céline Boutier of France, Megan Khang of the United States, Rose Zhang of the United States, Lexi Thompson of the United States, Albane Valenzuela of Switzerland, Danielle Kang of the United States, and Michelle Wie West of the United States.
Yoon, ranked 20th in the world, is said to have received an invitation to join early on, from the time WTGL's launch was first discussed. Yoon, who made her LPGA Tour debut last year after competing on the KLPGA Tour, went through an adjustment period in her first season and has raised her profile sharply this year. She has missed the cut only twice in 15 events entered and has finished in the top 10 five times. She left a strong impression with strong results in major tournaments in particular, including a solo runner-up finish at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and a tie for fourth at the Chevron Championship. Her season average driving distance of 277 yards, ranking fifth overall, appears to be one of the reasons WTGL selected her.
Meanwhile, among Korean players with the highest world rankings, Ryu Hae-ran, ranked third, and Kim Hyo-joo, ranked fourth, took different paths: Ryu had not received a separate invitation, while Kim was invited but did not accept.
