NAPLES, Fla. — So many times, golf has given Lindy Duncan every reason to quit. Her career has been anything but easy, from taking five tries to earn her LPGA Tour card, to losing it and regaining it, and losing sponsors, to pondering another career. She’s been through it all. The 34-year-old Duncan found the secret to surviving the ups and downs over the years was re-framing the way she thought about her job.

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And for her resiliency, Duncan was honored with the Heather Farr Perseverance Award at the Rolex LPGA Awards on Monday as part of the CME Global Tour Championship week. Lydia Ko, the newest member of the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, presented her with the award in Duncan’s home state.

Among the other honorees were Miyu Yamashita as the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year andi Minjee Lee receiving the Rolex Annika Major Award.

This season, Duncan, who is still searching for her first LPGA win, played her way into the final group at the major Chevron Championship in April, only to lose to Mao Saigo in a five-way playoff. It was the first time Duncan played in a final group on the last day of a major, and though she didn’t win, her runner-up would be one of six top-10s she’s notched in her finest season while rising to 44th in the world rankings.

“Not that long ago, on the final hole of Q-Series I made an 8. To be clear, this was not a golf-is-hard 8. It was a total out-of-body 8,” Duncan recalled in her awards speech. “This was the most stressful moment of my career to say the least. It was a complete mental collapse. I can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was heartbreaking. In 15 minutes, I felt I had lost my job and a part of my heart.

“I put so much pressure on myself that I couldn’t do the thing I loved the most. For a while, I wondered if I should keep playing. I thought, ‘Golf, why don’t you love me back?’ That moment forced a choice—walk away or change. With nothing else to lose, except the last bit of my sanity hanging on like a downhill four-footer, I decided to make a change.”

Duncan isn’t just at Naples to receive the award. She is among the 60-player field that qualified for the season-ending event. She has tirelessly worked on her swing and made homemade training aids her whole career. Hard work has always described her dedication to the sport. The results weren’t always there. She finally figured the answer came from within.

“It came down to one question: If I gave everything and it stills wasn’t enough, would I play?” Duncan said. “In wrestling with that question, I discovered a few truths. I’m a golf nerd and I love golf so much I would play for free. In fact, I have played for free many times because I missed a lot of cuts.

“The other truth was I hadn’t given it my all. A harder truth was that I hadn’t been giving it my all. for years, I told myself I played out of love. That wasn’t true. Real love doesn’t demand anything in return and mine did. My relationship with golf and myself had become transactional, tangled up with outcomes and scores.

“If I choose to play golf without guarantees, why play? The answer was simple. Honoring this life means me living it joyfully, being playful, present, laughing often and letting perseverance come from love instead of fear.”

Miyu Yamashita accepts her Rookie of the Year award. Photo courtesy of LPGA

Yamashita, a 24-year-old from Japan, figured to be a formidable figure on the LPGA after winning 13 pro titles in her home country. She was the medalist in Final Qualifying in the 2024 Q-Series to become a rookie this year on the LPGA, and after five top-eight finishes, she broke through in the biggest way possible by winning the AIG Women’s Open In August at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

In late October, Yamashita became only the second player this season (the other being Jeeno Thitikul) to win twice when she captured the Maybank Championship in Malaysia. That win and a third-place finish in her next start gave Yamashita a dozen top-10 finishes for the season and pushed her to No. 3 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. Since the rookie of the year award was established in 1962, three Japanese players have earned it, with Yamashita joining last year’s winner and countrywoman Mao Saigo.

Lee, a 29-year-old Australian with 11 LPGA wins, became the first player to win the Annika Major Award twice after first doing so in 2022. The prize goes to the player who gets the most top-10 points among the tour’s five majors, and beyond winning the KPMG Women’s PGA for her third major title, Lee was third in the Amundi Evian Championship. She also finished T-14 in the Chevron Championship, T-22 in the U.S. Women’s Open and T-13 in the AIG Women’s Open.

Stacy Lewis speaks while receiving the Founders Award. Photo courtesy of LPGA

The Founders Award is given to the LPGA member who, in the view of their peers, “best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA through her behavior and deeds. Lewis is a 13-time tour winner and two-time major champion who announced her retirement earlier this year. She is a four-time member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team, a two-time captain and finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Ellen Griffin Rolex Award, named for the late teaching professional, recognizes honorees who have made a contribution to teaching golf, and this year’s winner is Marvol Bernard, the director of instruction at the Country Club of Green Valley in Arizona. Bernard said she loves to work with participants of LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, and she has coached local high school teams. She is a past LPGA Professionals National President and is among Golf Digest's Best Teachers in Arizona.

Each season, the tour recognizes Rolex First-Time Winners, and this year there were 10—Yamashita, Saigo, Jin Hee Im, Akie Iwai, Chisato Iwai, Ingrid Lindblad, Somi Lee, Yealimi Noh, Rio Takeda, Miranda Wang, Lottie Woad.

Lee, a 29-year-old Australian with 11 LPGA wins, became the first player to win the Annika Major Award twice after first doing so in 2022. The prize goes to the player who gets the most top-10 points among the tour’s five majors, and beyond winning the KPMG Women’s PGA for her third major title, Lee was third in the Amundi Evian Championship. She also finished T-14 in the Chevron Championship, T-22 in the U.S. Women’s Open and T-13 in the AIG Women’s Open.

The Founders Award is given to the LPGA member who, in the view of their peers, “best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA through her behavior and deeds." Lewis is a 13-time tour winner and two-time major champion who announced her retirement earlier this year. She is a four-time member of the U.S. Solheim Cup team, a two-time captain and finished fourth in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Ellen Griffin Rolex Award, named for the late teaching professional, recognizes honorees who have made a contribution to teaching golf, and this year’s winner is Marvol Bernard, the director of instruction at the Country Club of Green Valley in Arizona. Bernard said she loves to work with participants of LPGA-USGA Girls Golf, and she has coached local high school teams.

Each season, the tour recognizes Rolex First-Time Winners, and this year there have been 11 with the Tour Championship still to be played—Yamashita, Jin Hee Im, Akie Iwai, Chisato Iwai, Ingrid Lindblad, Somi Lee, Yealimi Noh, Mao Saigo, Rio Takeda, Miranda Wang, Lottie Woad.