Nelly Korda has been the dominant force in the women's game over the past year, with the world No 1 looking to continue her extraordinary start to 2026 by claiming a third consecutive major victory.
Korda has eight top-three finishes in her last nine starts, with four wins on the LPGA Tour this season, including a dominant five-shot victory at the Chevron Championship - the opening major of the year - and a one-shot triumph at the US Women's Open.
The American is now just one major win away from earning the final two points to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, with Korda also having opportunities at the Evian Championship and AIG Women's Open this summer to complete the career Grand Slam.
Inbee Park in 2013 became the only player in the modern era to win the first three women's majors of the year, with Korda now looking to replicate that at the tournament where she claimed her breakthrough major success in 2021.
Korda has past form at Hazeltine, too, having finished tied-third when the Minnesota venue last hosted the KPMG Women's PGA Championship in 2019. Anyone managing to sit above Korda on the leaderboard come Sunday could well be celebrating major victory.
It is 30 years since Dame Laura Davies won the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for a second time, with Charley Hull now having a fresh opportunity to end that 30-year wait for another English winner at the event.
Hull has five runner-up finishes in majors - including four in the last four years - without claiming her breakthrough win, with the latest coming when she finished a shot behind Korda at the US Women's Open.
The world No 4 continues to regularly contend in majors but has admitted to having late-night dreams reliving the past near-misses, with Hull also revealing doubts about whether she will ever eventually claim her maiden major title.
Hull insists she can beat anybody when playing her best golf but remains limited to three LPGA Tour titles in her career, most recently last September, with no Englishwoman winning a major since Georgia Hall's 2018 AIG Women's Open success.
"It just gets sorer and sorer every time I come second in a major," Hull told the Your Site Golf podcast. "I feel like if I just get over the line and then have some confidence in me, I don't feel like there's any stopping me."
While Hull has had over two weeks to process her latest major disappointment, compatriot Lottie Woad also aims to use a near-miss as motivation to bounce back and return to winning ways.
Woad appeared to be closing in on a third LPGA Tour title in less than a year at the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday, when a sensational bunker hole-out on the 71st hole saw her move ahead, but three putts at the 72nd - including one from barely two feet - led to a closing bogey.
The 22-year-old eventually lost out in a play-off to AIG Women's Open champion Miyu Yamashita, having won the Kroger Queen City Championship in her start before her previous major appearance.
Woad makes her KPMG Women's PGA Championship debut but is fully expected to challenge, having posted top-eight finishes in three of her last four majors and continuing to impress among the world's best.
"Definitely felt like I played good," Woad said about her runner-up finish. "I'm going to try and shake off this missed one. Hopefully next week [Women's PGA] is my week instead!"
This week's event is one of just four left on the LPGA Tour schedule before Team Europe's qualification campaign ends after the AIG Women's Open, meaning time is running out for players looking to automatically qualify for Anna Nordqvist's Solheim Cup team.
The top two eligible players from the LET Solheim Cup points list will be joined by the top six eligible players via the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, with a strong showing in Minnesota likely to help any hopes of featuring in the Netherlands.
Hull, Woad, Maja Stark, Celine Boutier, Carlota Ciganda and Linn Grant are all inside the world's top 50 and likely to already be safely through, but others can force their way into contention over the coming weeks.
The four captain's picks will be announced in early August while the qualification campaign for Team USA does not end until the CPKC Women's Open on August 23, giving the American contingent more time to try and secure their Solheim Cup spots.
Park, Annika Sorenstam and Juli Inkster are the only players this century to win back-to-back editions of the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, with form not on Minjee Lee's side as she looks to join that exclusive club.
Lee won her third major title with a three-shot victory in last year's contest but has been unable to build on a solid start to this season, finishing outside the top 25 in her last five worldwide starts.
The previous winner of a Hazeltine-hosted PGA Championship was Australian, as Hannah Green claimed a one-shot victory that year in 2019 and she is already a four-time winner this season - twice on the LPGA Tour and twice on the Ladies European Tour.
Green will be targeting another win at the same venue, having already moved above her compatriot in the world rankings, while Lee can become the first player since Korda to become a four-time major champion.
All of the world's top 100 are scheduled to tee it up in Minnesota, with Lee and Green among the 12 past champions in action. An exciting week awaits to see who will become the next major winner.
Who will win the KPMG Women's PGA Championship? Watch throughout the week live on Your Site. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 4pm on Your Site+ and 5pm on Your Site Golf. or .
