Top 10 LPGA storylines from 2025 include a major finish for the ages
One could make the argument that there was more talk outside the ropes than inside this year on the LPGA. The lead-up to a new commissioner in the spring, followed by Craig Kessler’s burst of energy to start the summer, held more interest than the unprecedented carousel of winners.
No one could’ve predicted that Nelly Korda, a seven-time winner in 2024, would fail to find the winner’s circle this season. Personally, however, it proved to be a beautiful year for the top-ranked American as she announced her engagement shortly after Thanksgiving.
A season that saw a record 29 different winners had a number of highlights and head-turning moments.
Without further ado, here’s a look at the top 10 storylines from 2025:
1. Grace Kim’s unbelievable finish
Grace Kim’s eagle-birdie-eagle finish to win the Amundi Evian Championship in overtime became an instant classic. Kim played her last four holes in 4 under to get into a playoff, including an eagle on the 72nd hole.
On the first playoff hole against Jeeno Thitikul, Kim lost her 4-hybrid right into a greenside pond, and it looked like Thitikul was poised to finally shed the label of best-without-a-major and climb to No. 1 in the world.
But then something miraculous happened.
Kim didn’t panic. She gathered herself and proceeded to hole the chip shot from across the green for birdie, putting all the pressure back on Thitikul to match her efforts. The talented Thai player answered, pouring in her 8-foot birdie putt.
The pair headed back to the 18th tee for more.
With 4-hybrid back in hand for a third time, Kim hit the green in two, giving herself the advantage with a 12-footer for eagle. Thitikul’s second shot went long near a bunker, and after calling over a rules official to check out the ants that had swarmed her ball, she chipped down to 6 feet.
It wouldn’t matter, however, as Kim poured in another eagle on the 18th, putting a hand up to her mouth to cover her surprise. She’d played the last six holes – including the playoff – in seven under and earned $ 1.2 million.
2. Jeeno Thitikul sweeps at CME
Thitikul capped off a third win of the season in style, setting a new scoring record for the tour en route to another $ 4 million payday. Thitikul’s scoring average of 68.681 eclipses the mark of 68.697 set by Annika Sorenstam in 2002. The LPGA’s most consistent player, Thitikul became only the third player in LPGA history to break the 69 mark for the season, joining Sorenstam and Lydia Ko (2022).
The winner of the Vare Trophy and Rolex LPGA Player of the Year Award, Thitikul picked up three Hall of Fame points in one day.
3. Lottie Woad wins LPGA pro debut
One week after Lottie Woad became the first player to graduate from the tour’s new LEAP program to earn her LPGA card, the Englishwoman won her pro debut at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open.
The Florida State standout became the third player in LPGA history to win in her first start as an LPGA member, joining former world No. 1 Jin Young Ko (2018) and Beverly Hanson (1951).
Woad had missed out on a playoff at the Evian by one shot and, the week prior, won the Irish Open on the LET.
“I don’t really know how to describe it,” said the humble Woad in the midst of that stretch of brilliance. “Just been shooting low scores, which is always nice.”
4. Brooke Henderson ends drought at home
Few things on the LPGA feel bigger than Brooke Henderson winning on home soil. The Canadian superstar snapped a drought that stretched back two years and seven months when she won the 2025 CPKC Women’s Open.
“I’ve been waiting for that 14th win feels like forever,” said Henderson, the winningest golfer in Canadian history.
This marks the second time Henderson has won her national open, with the first coming in 2018.
5. Minjee Lee wins third major
Fields Ranch East course, the new Home of the PGA of America and a staple in the big-event lineup for years to come, provided a merciless test to the best women in the world. Behind her shades, 29-year-old Minjee Lee looked chill in the suffocating Texas heat and unrelenting winds at the KPMG Women’s PGA, where she won by three.
Winless since the fall of 2023, Lee’s resurgence can be traced back to one club: the longer putter. She put it in play at the start of the season at the urging of longtime coach Ritchie Smith. Lee’s strokes gained putting rank in 2024 was a dismal 137th. She ranked fifth on tour this season coming into the week, and finished first in the field at PGA Frisco.
Lee became only the third Aussie to win three different majors, joining mentor Karrie Webb and Jan Stephenson. With victories at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open and 2021 Evian Championship, Lee is now one of five active players on the LPGA with three legs of the career grand slam, joined by Anna Nordqvist, In Gee Chun, Yani Tseng and Ko.
6. Jeeno Thitikul four-putts; Charley Hull wins
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul four-putted the 72nd hole to hand the Kroger Queen City Championship to Charley Hull. The upbeat Thai player looked on in disbelief as a nervous Hull knocked in a short birdie putt to seal her third career victory.
Thitikul later admitted to wiping away buckets of tears after that loss.
For Hull, it was the cap to weird season that included collapsing at the Evian and tripping on a curb at an LET event in London, leaving her in a moon boot. She also came oh-so-close at another major, taking a share of second at Royal Porthcawl.
7. Kim Kaufman returns to LPGA Final Qualifying
One year after players wore pink ribbons for Kim Kaufman at the final stage of LPGA Qualifying, the 34-year-old was back in the field cancer-free.
Kaufman had lumpectomy one year ago, started chemo treatments in January, and after those wrapped up in April, did seven weeks of radiation, which ended in early June.
In October, she was one of 50 players out of a field of 194 to advance through the second stage of Q-Series (now known as Qualifying Stage) at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida.
She’ll compete on the Epson Tour in 2026.
8. Yani Tseng’s comeback
Yani Tseng made headlines at the Chevron Championship for putting left-handed. The five-time major winner overcame the yips by making the switch and later qualified for her first U.S. Women’s Open in nine years. (She’d miss the cut by one at Erin Hills.)
In August, Tseng made her first LPGA cut in seven years at the AIG Women’s British Open. And in October, the former No. 1 won the LET at the weather-shortened Wistron Ladies Open on home soil in Taiwan.
“Until the last hole, I wasn’t sure if the scores were correct on the board,” said Tseng. “It’s been such a long time to be able to stand in this position.”
9. Lindy Duncan tells the other side
Lindy Duncan didn’t win a tournament on the LPGA this season, though she did come close, coming up short in a playoff at the Chevron Championship. But the Duke grad still delivered the most memorable speech of the year at the annual Rolex LPGA Awards.
The 2025 Heather Farr Perseverance Award winner said she rewrote her acceptance speech 20 times, trying to find ways to make it simpler. The end result was a masterpiece – the raw, relatable speech everyone kept talking about.
“For years, I thought joy was earned through accomplishment,” she said. “Then I realized: joy is a choice, independent of scores or outcomes.
“That shift, choosing joy over validation, gave me freedom to be honest and vulnerable. Freedom to play and live fully, for the first time in a long time.”
Duncan’s breakthrough year left a lasting impression.
10. Trouble in Texas
The first major of the season was a memorable one for all the wrong reasons.
Golf Twitter erupted on Sunday as players – including eventual winner Mao Saigo – used the grandstand as a backstop when going for the green in two. Ariya Jutanugarn actually hit the volunteer she was aiming at after her ball bounced off the grandstand.
Jutanugarn couldn’t get a drop for her third, however, and practically whiffed her chip shot, which advanced only a few inches. She wound up making bogey on the hole when a par would’ve won her the tournament outright.
The first five-way playoff in LPGA major championship history commenced on the 18th, and the fear was that this might go on all night.
In the end, Saigo got it done in short order and then struggled with the traditional victory plunge because no one knew she couldn’t swim.
The Chevron is moving venues in 2026.
Bonus: The Caitlin and Kai Show
When it comes to on-the-ground buzz and exposure, it’s hard to top what Caitlin Clark and Kai Trump brought to The Annika. The Golf Channel’s live look-in of the pro-am on Wednesday was a longer broadcast window than the actual tournament rounds.
The addition of Sophie Cunningham and Lexi Hull as guest celebrity caddies turned the best pro-am day of the year on the LPGA into a bona fide team event. The chemistry between the trio of Fever athletes made Clark’s second appearance on the LPGA all the more entertaining.
Kai Trump, the eldest granddaughter of President Donald Trump and future Miami college golfer, played on a sponsor invite and shot 83-75. Trump’s 8 million social media followers and YouTube subscribers put her in a category above most female sports stars.
No doubt she’ll be back on the LPGA before too long.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Top 10 LPGA storylines from 2025 include a major finish for the ages
