The Australian Hannah Green is the new 2024 HSBC Women's World Championship winner. (Photo: Getty)
HSBC Women’s World Championship 2024 Live Scores
The HSBC Women’s World Championship in the season 2024 is being played in Sentosa, Singapore at the Sentosa Golf Club (Tanjong Course). The tournament starts at the Thursday, 29th of February and ends at the Sunday, 3rd of March 2024. The HSBC Women’s World Championship is part of the LPGA Tour in the season 2024 with a total prize money of $1,800,000. The course for the tournament at Sentosa Golf Club (Tanjong Course) plays at Par 72.
After Thailand, the tour is holding the second event of its short trip to Asia here. The following week, the tour moves on to China before returning to the USA. South Korea’s Jin Young Ko has won this tournament the last two years.
LPGA Tour live
The LPGA Tour is the largest tournament series in women’s professional golf. Most events are held in the USA, but the tour also has a global focus, for example with a strong Asian swing. Five major tournaments are organised on the women’s tour: the Chevron Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open and, in cooperation with the Ladies European Tour, the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the Evian Championship.
In addition to the LPGA Tour, there is also the second-tier Symetra Tour, which can be used to qualify for the next season of the big tour. Similar to the men’s tour, there are also qualifying tournaments, the annual Qualifying School, where you can earn the right to play on the LPGA Tour, the Epson Tour or neither, depending on your ranking.
The LPGA is the oldest continuing women’s professional sports organisation in the United States. It succeeded the WPGA (Women’s Professional Golf Association, 1944-1949). The LPGA was founded in 1950 by 13 founding women. Alice Bauer, Patty Berg, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Marlene Hagge, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Sally Sessions, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs, and Babe Zaharias.
Many US players will tee off at the LPGA Tour this week in Singapore. (Photo: Getty)
The LPGA Tour tees off this Thursday with the HSBC Women’s World Championship at the Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. The tournament, which is set on the Tanjong Course, features 72 par holes, with a substantial purse of $1,800,000. Reigning champion Jin Young Ko of the Republic of Korea is expected to defend her title after winning in 2022 and 2023.
The Tournament opens for the US players with Andrea Lee. Lee, teeing off at 08:25 AM on Thursday, will be joined by Aditi Ashok of India, and Hannah Green of Australia. Lauren Coughlin follows at 08:32 AM alongside Perrine Delacour of France and Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland.
Elizabeth Szokol is up next with a tee time of 08:37 AM, playing in the company of Linnea Strom from Sweden and Haeran Ryu of South Korea. Cheyenne Knight, another American player, tees off at 08:49 AM, accompanied by Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and Pajaree Anannarukarn of Thailand.
Jennifer Kupcho starts her game at 09:01 AM with Muni He of China and Bianca Pagdanganan of The Philippines. Furthermore, Allisen Corpuz is scheduled for a 09:37 AM start. She is paired with Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand and Pei-Yun Chien of Taiwan.
Danielle Kang sets her first stroke at 09:44 AM, playing with Leona Maguire of Ireland and Nasa Hataoka of Japan. Alexa Pano will tee off at 09:49 AM, posing alongside Yu Liu from China and Yuna Nishimura of Japan.
The top group of twoAmerican golfers and one Chinese golfer — Alison Lee, Lilia Vu and Ruoning Yin — begin their challenge at 09:56 AM. Lastly, Sarah Schmelzel wraps up the American contingent with her tee time of 10:25 AM, playing with Emily K. Pedersen of Denmark.
All of the LPGA Tour tee times listed above are in local time and are subject to changes due to weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances.
Gemma Dryburgh and Jodi Ewart Shadoff will represent the UK at this week's LPGA Tour tournament. (Photos: Getty)
The HSBC Women’s World Championship, a high-profile event on the LPGA Tour, is set to begin with Round 1 on Thursday at Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore. The championship, hosted by the club’s Tanjong Course (Par 72), carries a substantial prize fund of $1,800,000. Defending champion, Jin Young Ko, will be among the players looking to master this challenging course. A look at the tee times of the UK players
LPGA Tour’s HSBC Women’s World Championship: UK Women Golfers’ Tee Times
Gem Dryburgh, from Scotland, will tee off first among British, Scottish and Welsh players. Her round 1 is scheduled at 08:32 AM. She will play alongside Perrine Delacour from France and Lauren Coughlin from the United States.
Following her is Jodi Ewart Shadoff from England. She will tee off at 09:20 AM in her opening round sharing the field with Ariya Jutanugarn from Thailand and Ayaka Furue from Japan.
Player Name
Country
Round 1 Tee Time
Companions
Gemma Dryburgh
Scotland
08:32 AM
Perrine Delacour (France), Lauren Coughlin (USA)
Jodi Ewart Shadoff
England
09:20 AM
Ariya Jutanugarn (Thailand), Ayaka Furue (Japan)
The tee times for Round 2 will be published as and when they are released by the tournament organizers. These LPGA Tour Tee times are subject to change depending on changing weather circumstances or unforeseen scheduling issues. Hence, it is wise always to check for the most recent updates.
Please visit our website closer to the tournament start date for the most current LPGA Tour Tee Times.
The Honda LPGA Thailand in the season 2024 is being played in Chonburi, Thailand at the Siam Country Club (Old Course). The tournament starts at the Thursday, 22nd of February and ends at the Sunday, 25th of February 2024.
The Honda LPGA Thailand is part of the LPGA Tour in the season 2024. In 2024 all players competing for a total prize money of $1,700,000.
The course for the tournament at Siam Country Club (Old Course) plays at Par 72.
The best female golfers on the LPGA Tour come together this week at the Honda LPGA Thailand. Fans can once again look forward to top golf in Thailand at the 17th edition of the tournament.
LPGA Tour live
The LPGA Tour is the largest tournament series in women’s professional golf. Most events are held in the USA, but the tour also has a global focus, for example with a strong Asian swing.
Five major tournaments are organised on the women’s tour: the Chevron Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open and, in cooperation with the Ladies European Tour, the Ricoh Women’s British Open and the Evian Championship.
In addition to the LPGA Tour, there is also the second-tier Symetra Tour, which can be used to qualify for the next season of the big tour. Similar to the men’s tour, there are also qualifying tournaments, the annual Qualifying School, where you can earn the right to play on the LPGA Tour, the Epson Tour or neither, depending on your ranking.
The LPGA is the oldest continuing women’s professional sports organisation in the United States. It succeeded the WPGA (Women’s Professional Golf Association, 1944-1949). The LPGA was founded in 1950 by 13 founding women. Alice Bauer, Patty Berg, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Marlene Hagge, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Sally Sessions, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs, and Babe Zaharias.
Hae Ran Ryu has won the LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Award. (Source: Getty)
Hae Ran Ryu clinched the prestigious Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award for 2023 on the LPGA Tour. This honor comes on the heels of her impressive tie for 12th place at The Annika last week. Heading into the CME Group Tour Championship, Ryu has amassed a total of 893 points, holding an insurmountable 274-point lead over Grace Kim in the Rookie standings.
Hae Ran Ryu is your 2023 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year ‼️🏆
She clinched the honor after finishing T12 at @theANNIKAlpga 💪
Ryu’s inaugural season on the LPGA Tour has been nothing short of remarkable, marked by six top-10 finishes, including a noteworthy victory at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship. Among her achievements are a solo third at the Mizuho Americas Open and a solo fourth at the Cognizant Founders Cup. She also notched her best result in a major tournament, finishing eighth at the US Women’s Open.
“I’m honored to receive the Rookie of the Year Award and join the prestigious list of past winners. This year has been unforgettable, and I take pride in what I’ve accomplished on the LPGA Tour,” expressed Ryu. “I’m forever grateful to my team and fans for their unwavering support in my debut season, and I eagerly anticipate closing out the year at the CME Group Tour Championship.”
The 22-year-old has already earned over $1.5 million this season, securing the 15th spot on the Official Money List for the year.
Successful Transition from Amateur Glory
Before making her mark on the LPGA Tour, Ryu participated in six Tour events, securing top-15 finishes at the 2020 US Women’s Open (T13) and the 2021 BMW Ladies Championship (T7). Her journey to success includes five victories on the KLPGA, where she claimed the Rookie of the Year title in 2020. As an amateur, Ryu won the Korean Women’s Amateur in 2018 and showcased her skills at events like the World Junior Girls Championship in 2016 and 2017, the Asian Games in 2018, and the Patsy Hankins Trophy in 2018.
The climax of Ryu’s rookie season will be marked by the presentation of the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award at the 2023 Rolex LPGA Awards ceremony on Thursday, November 16, at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida, during the week of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.
Since its inception in 1962, the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Award has become a harbinger of golfing greatness. Twelve past winners, including legends like Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, and Lorena Ochoa, have ascended to the hallowed halls of the LPGA Hall of Fame or the World Golf Hall of Fame. Hae Ran Ryu now adds her name to this illustrious list, etching her place in the annals of golf history.
The Club at Carlton Woods will host the first major of the year (Source: LPGA Women's Network)
The enthusiasm of the title sponsor and the local community is bringing the Chevron Championship to a brand-new venue, The Club Carlton Woods, in The Woodlands, Texas. Just a few weeks before the start of this first major of the year, the excitement of Chevron and its employees, the members and staff of Carlton Woods, and the residents of The Woodlands is setting the stage for a memorable LPGA event.
The Chevron Championship and the Woodlands seek to raise the bar for women’s golf
“It was really a natural fit as we looked at our portfolio of external engagements in the sports area. This is a real opportunity for us to raise the bar with women’s tournaments,” said Josetta Jones, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Chevron, which became the new title sponsor of the former ANA Inspiration through a six-year relationship with the LPGA that began in 2022.
Jones, born and raised in the Houston area –and moving back to Texas after a period in California– will join a large Chevron employee base in the area, eager to volunteer and attend the tournament with their families and children.
“As a large Fortune 500 company we support women; we supportwomen athletics.Given the gravitas of this event and what it has done for women’s golf, we want to show that we are equally as committed to being the next chapter for this major,” added Jones about the history of a tournament with 14 champions inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Hosting a major tournament is an extreme honor for the Club at Carlton Woods and the Woodlands
According to Stacy Lewis, another Houston native and winner of the Chevron Championship in 2011 (then Kraft Nabisco), “the members and the club management at Carlton Woods are thrilled to have been chosen to host a Major Championship. Having the support of both the club and The Woodlands community will be crucial to establishing this as a wonderful major venue for the new era ahead.”
For Lewis, captain of the 2023 and 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup Teams, who will be participating in her sixteenth Chevron Championship from April 20-23, “being able to compete in a major in front of my friends, family and community is pretty special.”
Hosting a major championship is no small feat, but The Club at Carlton Woods seems to be the perfect stage for the next chapter of the LPGA’s first major of the season.
“We are just excited to hopefully bring more women out to watch the tournament and kind of grow their interest in the game. Since we heard that the tournament was coming officially here, we have been bragging because we are proud to have it at this location,” said Marissa Brandsburg, a LPGA Class A Professional at Carlton Woods.
Dr. Ann K. Snyder, The Woodlands Township Chairman, echoes the pride and anticipation among the community.
“We appreciate the confidence in The Woodlands with this world-renowned tournament and the highly supportive activities of women’s and girl’s golf associated with the tournament. Our residents and businesses are looking forward to making our township the most favorite place on tour,” said Dr. Snyder.
Cindy Bryson, Coordinator for Volunteers and Player Housing for IMG, one of the three tournament organizers –along with the LPGA and Chevron— celebrates how the residents are putting that excitement into action.
“The enthusiasm from the community to get involved and support The Chevron Championship has made my work a wonderful experience.As a 37-year resident, I am so proud to see the huge appetite to embrace this women’s major,” said Bryson.
“The Woodlands is a great location for all types of sporting events, and it is really exciting for us to have something of this caliber,” said Elizabeth Eddins, Executive Director of Visit The Woodlands, highlighting some of the main local attractions: 220 miles of pathways, Market Street high-end shopping, and dining along the waterway.
“We have a lot of women in leadership in The Woodlands and I think it is just kind of the right time to have this type of event,” added Eddins about The Chevron Championship, which will coincide with the Ironman Americas Championship on April 22 nd.
If there’s one thing that can be said about this new major championship location, it’s that The Woodlands will fully embrace and celebrate the best women golfers in the world with its streets and trails full of sports fans, visitors and athletes golfing, cycling, running, walking the trails, and riding the free trolley to their favorite store and restaurant along the waterways. (text: LPGA Women’s Network)
Stacey Lewis will captain Team USA at the Solheim Cup two years in a row. (Photo: Getty)
Two-time major champion Stacy Lewis has been named captain of the 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup Team. Lewis is already hard at work as captain for the 2023 Team and will now also lead the top 12 American female golfers as they represent their country at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., on Sept. 10-15, 2024.
Stacy Lewis: back-to-back Solheim Cup Captain
“This is such an amazing honor, to be asked to again captain the U.S. Solheim Cup Team. Receiving the first call was one of the highest points of my career, and I am truly grateful to add this second opportunity,” said Lewis. “I’ve said it many times – representing the United States and wearing our colors are experiences that stand out in any player’s career. To have the chance to lead our country’s best players twice, and especially in 2024 outside our nation’s capital, is a true privilege.”
“Stacy has already proven to be an outstanding captain as she prepares for the 2023 Solheim Cup,” said LPGA Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan. “She has embraced the role in every way and has implemented several innovative ways to help her team reach peak performance, including the use of advanced data and analytics. Her Solheim Cup experience, proven leadership and passion coupled with the many benefits of consistency in 2023 and 2024 led the selection committee to enthusiastically invite Stacy to captain the team in 2024.”
Successful career
Lewis is a 13-time LPGA Tour winner, earning major titles at the 2011 Chevron Championship and the 2013 AIG Women’s Open. She spent 264 consecutive weeks from 2011-16 ranked in the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, including 25 weeks at No. 1, and was the 2012 and 2014 Rolex LPGA Player of the Year. In 2016, Lewis was a member of Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Brazil, finishing tied for fourth.
Lewis represented the U.S. on the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 Solheim Cup Teams. In 2019, Lewis served as an unofficial assistant captain under Juli Inkster after withdrawing from competition due to injury, and she worked in that role in an official capacity under Pat Hurst in 2021.
In February 2022, Lewis was named captain for the 2023 U.S. Solheim Cup team, which will take on Team Europe at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain. At 38 years, 7 months and 6 days old on the first day of competition in 2023 and 39 years, 5 months and 28 days old in 2024, she will be the youngest American captain in Solheim Cup history. She will also join World Golf Hall of Fame members Juli Inkster (2015, 2017, 2019), Judy Rankin (1996, 1998), Patty Sheehan (2002, 2003) and Kathy Whitworth (1990, 1992) as the fifth person to captain the U.S. Team at least twice.
Dedication to equal opportunities
Prior to joining the LPGA Tour, Lewis enjoyed a standout amateur career as a four-time All-American at the University of Arkansas, taking the NCAA Division I national title in 2007 as one of her 12 titles. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in finance and accounting, the same year she became the first player in Curtis Cup history to go 5-0 during a 13-7 USA victory over Great Britain and Ireland on the Old Course at St Andrews.
Lewis currently serves as a Player Director on the LPGA Board of Directors and is also an ambassador for LPGA-USGA Girls Golf. She is a vocal proponent for pay and sponsorship equity in sports and has advocated for improved maternity clauses in the women’s game.
Solheim Cup 2024 in the USA
Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, the 2024 host venue located just outside Washington D.C., was founded and designed by famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., who considered the layout to be one of his finest designs. The course and its designer have long worked to join the game of golf with the American presidential lineage, with Jones first installing a putting green at the White House in 1954 for President Dwight Eisenhower. The club was the host venue for the 1994, 1996, 2000 and 2005 Presidents Cups, with four presidents serving as honorary chairmen, as well as the PGA Tour’s 2015 Quicken Loans National.
The LPGA Tour launches its own documentary series. (photo: getty)
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced the creation of “Drive On: LPGA All Access,” a multi-episode series that will air on LPGA platforms and give fans a beyond-the-course glimpse into the lives of some of the best golfers in the world – LPGA Tour athletes.. Approximately 10 episodes are planned for the 2023 season. The first episode will debut Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. EST on YouTube and LPGA.com, and feature behind-the-scenes moments with players like Gemma Dryburgh, Jodi Ewart Shadoff and Ashleigh Buhai during the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
One of the players featured in the Series is Gemma Dryburgh. She entered the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions following a career-defining year where she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2022 TOTO Japan Classic. Dryburgh made the most of her experience at Lake Nona, playing alongside idol and 72-time Tour winner Annika Sorenstam and meeting celebrities like Ellie Goulding.
Jodi Ewart Shadoff is also part odf the show. After nabbing her career-first win at the 2022 LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship, Ewart Shadoff finally got to play a “home game” at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, about 30 minutes from her residence in Orlando that she shares with her husband and local sports reporter Adam Shadoff.
Another one taking part in the series is Ashleigh Buhai. The South African, who was exempt into her first #HGVLPGA thanks to her major victory at the 2022 AIG Women’s Open, had a busy offseason, capturing the 2022 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open in December and returning home to South Africa. She’s ready for competition with husband David Buhai on the bag for one week only.
The docu-series will showcase the “stories and personalities of LPGA Tour”
The first-of-its-kind series for the LPGA Tour will follow the storylines of the 2023 season like never before, with exclusive moments between players on and off the course during the year’s biggest events like the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown at TPC Harding Park and the Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin.
“This docu-series is an excellent opportunity to continue showcasing the many stories and personalities of LPGA Tour athletes and give fans a peek into what goes into life on Tour,” said Brian Carroll, EVP of global media distribution and partnerships for the LPGA. “We’re excited to embark on this season-long production with episodes illustrating a record-breaking year for those battling for titles week in and week out on the LPGA Tour.”
The documentary series will be produced in partnership with toldright and Executive Producer Adam Hertzog.
About the LPGA
The LPGA is the world’s leading professional golf organization for women, with a goal to change the face of golf by making the sport more accessible and inclusive.
Created in 1950 by 13 Founders, the Association celebrates a diverse and storied history. The LPGA Tour competes across the globe, reaching television audiences in more than 220 countries. The Epson Tour, the LPGA’s official qualifying tour, consistently produces a pipeline of talent ready for the world stage. The LPGA also holds a joint-venture collaboration with the Ladies European Tour (LET), increasing playing opportunities for female golfers in Europe. Across the three Tours, the LPGA represents players in more than 60 countries.
Additionally, the LPGA Foundation has empowered and supported girls and women since 1991, most notably through LPGA*USGA Girls Golf, the only national program of its kind, which annually engages with nearly 100,000 girls. The LPGA Amateur Golf Association and LPGA Women’s Network provide virtual and in-person connections to female golfers around the world, while LPGA Professionals are educators, business leaders and gamechangers dedicated to growing the game of golf for everyone.
Lydia Ko will probably have to put up a new wardrobe at home in Orlando – with all the trophies she brings home from the CME Group Tour Championship: the glass globe for winning the LPGA final tournament, the silver bowl of the Vare Trophy, the “Player of the Year” awards and everything else the 25-year-old was presented with at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples. “The winner takes it all,” ABBA once warbled. But despite the record check for two million dollars and a total of 4,364,403 dollars for three victories and a total of seven top-five finishes since the Amundi Evian Championship in July, the most successful prize money season of all time didn’t work out. Lorena Ochoa was “better” by $591 in 2007.
“She’s made peace with herself”
But money, as we all know, isn’t everything. Especially when the “main prize” is standing on the edge of the 18th green: Ko’s fiancé Jun Chung. “He makes me smile, motivates and inspires me to become a better person and a better player,” says the New Zealander. “Since she met him, she has made peace with herself,” confirms her sister Sura.
Lydia Ko and Jun Chung have been a couple for almost two years, writing letters to each other for six months until the Corona pandemic allowed the first real date. Meanwhile, Chung, who lives in San Francisco, is the son of a Hyundai manager, works in the finance department of the Korean car company and first had to Google his new pen pal’s golf career, had taken up golf himself. On December 30, the two will marry in Kos and Chung’s native Seoul.
But after that, not much will change, says Chung, who likes to stay out of the camera’s focus: “She’ll keep playing. I don’t want to get involved in that. I want ‘Lyds’ to give all she can in the time she has ahead of her at this top level.” In turn, she says, “Since I’ve been with him, I want to make better use of the time I have to work on my game. To then be able to really enjoy the time off. I feel like that helps me train better and focus more.”
Three “meager” years already count as a crisis there
Time is the key word in every sense of the word for change, for the development of exceptional golfer Lydia Ko, who began as a teenage sensation, won her first professional tournament at 14, became the youngest tour winner in LPGA history at 15 years, four months and two days at the Canadian Open in August 2012, was number one in the world amateur rankings for 130 weeks and won her first professional tournament at the age of 18. Before the age of 20, she had already won two majors and the silver medal in golf’s Olympic comeback, and now has 19 LPGA victories to her name.
With such a golfing career, three years, the period between July 2016 and April 2021, with only one tournament title and a drop to 46th in the world rankings, can seem like a sporting crisis: “When you’re not playing so well, you have these weaker moments that feel so long. All too often, she has linked her existence exclusively to the numbers on the scorecard, identifying herself by her results on the golf course, Ko admits self-critically and unapologetically.
Interviewer rendered speechless
As bluntly as she spoke in June about her menstrual cramps and their effects on her back muscles (“It’s that times of the month”) after asking for medical help during the round – which literally left the interviewer from the “Golf Channel” speechless.
Equally candid, she says Jun Chung has given her “a new outlook on golf and life”: “How he perceives me doesn’t depend on my performance on the course.” And that’s precisely why “above all, I really wanted to win the BMW Ladies Championship last month in both our motherland, South Korea, with him by my side.” Mission accomplished. If Rosamunde Pilcher had written this plot, the whole world would have called it kitsch.
“You played better when you were 15”
So be it. From Ko’s point of view, the balance in her life has never been better. Without the period of the so-called form crisis, “I probably wouldn’t have the attitude I have today,” she says after her first season of multiple wins since 2016. “I feel like I matured a lot during that time.” And then isn’t fazed by a “You played better when you were 15” comment from her mother Tina: “What am I supposed to do with that information?” After nine years on the tour, you act differently, you’re simply more experienced, more familiar with the processes and conditions.
“Experience is the reason why some players play successfully on the tour for 15, 20 years. They hit their balls and know what’s going to happen. That comes naturally over time. Experience is like having a 15th club in the bag.”
Lydia Ko
On and off the court – starting with training on “more different types of grass than you can name in the same breath,” grins the new world number two behind Nelly Korda. “I used to play up liberated because I was young and clueless. Today I’m freer because I’ve learned to take things as they come and deal with them.”
Soon to be youngest Hall of Fame member
No question, the former child prodigy has grown up. And will probably soon become even the youngest member “ever” in the LPGA Hall of Fame. Until now, or since 2016, this privilege has gone to Inbee Park, who had to turn 27 to become a member. Ko, meanwhile, is only two points short.
Lydia Ko celebrates her 19th win on the LPGA Tour. (photo: Getty)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 10, 2022 – The LPGA Tour announced today that Lydia Ko earned the 2022 Rolex Player of the Year award with her win at the CME Group Tour Championship. Ko, who earned two additional victories this season at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio and the BMW Ladies Championship, is the 15th different player to win the award at least twice.
The 25-year-old also won the 2022 Vare Trophy for recording the season’s lowest scoring average of 68.988. Her season-long scoring average is the second-lowest Vare Trophy-winning scoring average in Tour history, behind Annika Sorenstam’s 68.70 in 2002. Sorenstam and Ko are the only two players to win the Vare Trophy with a scoring average in the 68s. Ko is the 12th player in LPGA Tour history to win the award in consecutive seasons and the 15th player to win the trophy more than once.
With the CME Group Tour Championship victory, the Rolex Player of the Year honor and the Vare Trophy, Ko now has 25 points toward qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame, two points shy of the 27 needed to be inducted.
“It’s a dream come true” for Lydia Ko
“I feel like it’s really difficult to compare, like, when I won the Player of the Year in 2015 to now. I don’t even — I don’t do stats very much, so I don’t even know what it is actually by numbers, but this year has been special,” said Ko following her win at the CME Group Tour Championship. “To win again at the Gainbridge so early in the season after winning in LOTTE last year, especially when I didn’t feel like I was ready, it kind of came to me as a surprise. Winning in Korea was special at a place where I was born, and it was my goal to have won there once. And to kind of do that, it was like a bucket-list thing.
You know, coming into these two events in the Florida stretch because I had won in Korea, I wanted to not have too high expectations. And obviously I wanted to end the season on a high but, you know, know that whatever happens and even though there’s a lot of things on the line, just know that it’s been a great season. And to be the Player of the Year and to win the Vare Trophy again and to win the CME Group Tour Championship, it’s a dream come true. To be able to do it in front of family and my team, you know, it’s a very special one.”
Ko entered the week in Naples, Fla. as one of four players with a mathematical chance of winning Player of the Year, leading the standings with 150 points, one clear of Minjee Lee and 20 ahead of Brooke Henderson and Atthaya Thtiikul. She also led Thitikul by 0.386 of a stroke heading into the final event, meaning the Thai rookie would have needed to score 35 strokes better than Ko to have a chance at the Vare Trophy.
The Kiwi set herself apart from the first day of play, managing the windy conditions throughout the week better than anyone to earn her second wire-to-wire victory of the season and of her career. By the end of the second round, Ko had a five-stroke lead on the field, but Irishwoman Leona Maguire made the most of Moving Day to tie things up before the final day. A 2-under 70 was all Ko needed on Sunday to finish -17 overall, two strokes ahead of Maguire, and secure the three season-ending titles.
Ko won her first Rolex Player of the Year award in 2015 after earning five victories that season, including her first major championship title at the Amundi Evian Championship. She earned her first Vare Trophy last year with a season-long scoring average of 69.329. Her accolades include the 2021 Founders Award and the 2014 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year honor.
Ko celebrates her 19th LPGA Tour win
Along with her three victories this season, Ko notched 11 additional top-10 finishes, including third-place finishes at the Palos Verdes Championship presented by Bank of America, the Amundi Evian Championship and The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America.
Ko is now a 19-time LPGA Tour winner (ranked T29 on the LPGA Tour’s All-Time Wins List), with major titles at the 2015 Amundi Evian Championship and the 2016 Chevron Championship. She is a former World No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, first achieving the top spot in February 2015 as the youngest player ever to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf. Ko is also the only amateur in history to win two LPGA Tour events, and officially joined the Tour as a 2014 rookie after petitioning for Membership in October 2013. Ko is a two-time Olympian representing New Zealand, winning the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The prestigious Rolex Player of the Year award was introduced to the LPGA in 1966. LPGA Tour players are awarded points at each official LPGA tournament based on top-10 finishes with the top points earner taking home the prestigious honor each year. Points are doubled at each of the LPGA’s five major championships – The Chevron Championship, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica, the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women’s Open.
The Vare Trophy was presented to the LPGA by Betty Jameson in 1952, in honor of the great American player Glenna Collett Vare. Vare Trophy scoring averages are computed on the basis of a Member’s total yearly score in Official Tournaments divided by the number of official rounds she played during a season.
