The 10 Biggest Stories And Highlights From Women’s Golf In 2025

The 2025 women’s golf season has been defined by standout performances, emotional homecomings, and high-stakes drama. From the rise of a new generation of Major champions like Maja Stark and Grace Kim to the unwavering grit of veterans like Charley Hull and Yani Tseng, the season proved that women's golf has reached a new level of global prominence. Here are ten moments that shaped this year.

The Seri Pak Setback

At the start of the 2025 season, the LPGA Tour suffered an administrative blow with the sudden cancellation of the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. Scheduled for March 20–23 at Palos Verdes, the event was called off just weeks before the opening round due to a major financial breach. The underwriter failed to meet any payment obligations for both the 2024 and 2025 tournaments.

Despite the Tour's year-long efforts to find a new slot on the calendar, the event remained off the schedule. The loss served as a reminder of the operational complexities behind professional golf, briefly stalling a season intended to celebrate the legendary legacy of its namesake, Seri Pak.

Need For Speed

The LPGA finally took a stand on one of the game's most divisive issues in 2025: slow play. After high-profile frustrations boiled over, most notably from Nelly Korda and Charley Hull, who have both been vocal about the "disgraceful" pace of play, the tour introduced a much-needed crackdown.

The move followed several rounds that stretched toward the six-hour mark, testing the patience of players and fans alike. By implementing stricter monitoring and more aggressive "on the clock" penalties, the LPGA is sending a clear message that the elite game must speed up to survive. For stars like Hull, who famously plays at a lightning-fast pace, the changes are a welcome relief and a vital step toward protecting the entertainment value of the professional game.

The Stark Ascent

The 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills will be remembered as the moment Maja Stark ascended to highest echelon of the sport. Beginning the final day, Stark was one shot clear of the field and she held off a pursuit from USA’s Nelly Korda and Japan’s Rio Takeda for a two-shot victory to become the third Swede in history to lift the trophy.

The Major victory was as lucrative as it was prestigious: the $2.4 million winner’s check nearly doubled her career earnings in a single week, catapulting the 25-year-old into a new echelon of the game.

Unstoppable Rise of Lottie Woad

In a year of breakout performances, none were quite as meteoric as Lottie Woad’s. The young English star rewrote the script for transitioning to the professional tour by winning the KPMG Women’s Irish Open and securing a stunning tied third finish at the Amundi Evian Championship, all while still an amateur.

If there were any doubts about how her game would translate to the professional ranks, she silenced them immediately by winning the ISPS Handa Women's Scottish Open in her very first start as a pro. It was a run that proved she doesn't just belong on the world stage, she's ready to dominate it.

Resilience Rewarded

One of the most emotional storylines of 2025 was the long-awaited return of Yani Tseng. The former World No. 1 secured a four-shot victory over Amelia Garvey at the Wistron Ladies Open in her homeland of Taiwan.

After a struggle that saw her fall from the peak of the sport to the brink of retirement, this win ended a gruelling 4,291-day drought. It was her first professional title since the 2014 Taifong Ladies Open, a gap many feared she would never bridge. More than just a trophy, Tseng’s triumph was a masterclass in resilience and a reminder that no matter how lost a player’s game may feel, the road back is always open.

Maiden Major Masterclass

The playoff at the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship was one of the most dramatic finishes in women’s golf history, featuring a head-to-head battle between Australian Grace Kim and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul. Kim charged back from three strokes behind with three holes to go via a birdie at the 16th and an eagle at the 18th, ultimately forcing a playoff after Thitikul missed a birdie chance to win it in regulation on the 72nd.

Returning to the 18th for a sudden-death showdown, the drama intensified when Kim sent her second shot into the water hazard. However, after taking a penalty drop, she stunned the gallery by chipping in from off the green for an improbable birdie. Not to be outdone, Thitikul scrambled for a birdie of her own to extend the playoff.

On their second trip back to the 18th, both players found the fairway off the tee, but while Kim was able to land her approach in the heart of the green, Thitikul ran hers over the back. Thitikul failed to chip in and was left to watch her close friend drain another eagle putt to secure her maiden Major.

Drama At The Last

The Kroger Queen City Championship delivered its most dramatic twist through Jeeno Thitikul. Heading into the final hole, Thitikul seemed in total control, only for a shocking putting meltdown to derail her charge. She four-putted the last green to make bogey on the par-5 hole, leaving Charley Hull a two-footer for birdie to win and turn the one-shot deficit into a one-shot victory.

It was a rare, vulnerable moment for one of the game's most consistent ball-strikers, but the collapse served as a stark reminder of golf’s fine margins and set the stage for one of the year's most talked-about finishes.

Record-Breaking Legacy

The 2025 season served as a year-long tribute to the 13 Founders who established the LPGA Tour in 1950, beginning a storytelling campaign that moved through the decades. This celebration has set the stage for the upcoming 75th Anniversary pro-m at Pebble Beach in January 2026. This event is poised to become a significant fundraiser that will drive the #OneMillionMORE initiative forward, ensuring the Foundation can continue to expand access, mentorship, and leadership opportunities for the next generation of girls worldwide.

Throughout the year, the tour has bridged the gap between its humble beginnings and its modern-day success, highlighting legends like Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam alongside current stars such as Rose Zhang and Nelly Korda. It remains a powerful reminder of the tour's growth: while the 13 Founders competed for a total seasonal purse of $40,250 in their first year, the 2025 athletes played for a prize fund of nearly $131 million.

Injury-Proof Champion

For Charley Hull, the 2025 season was a masterclass in resilience, defined by a series of bizarre medical hurdles that would have side-lined most. The drama began in July when Hull was forced to withdraw from the Amundi Evian Championship due to a severe virus. After collapsing twice, she was eventually stretchered off the course. Just weeks later, she suffered a freak accident in a car park at the PIF London Championship, tripping over a curb and completely tearing an ankle ligament.

Remarkably, these physical trials, which also included back cysts and muscle tears, seemed only to sharpen her focus, as she finally broke a three-year LPGA drought by winning the Kroger Queen City Championship in September.

Simply The Best

Despite the heartbreak of a four-putt finish on the 72nd hole at the Queen City Championship and a gut-wrenching playoff loss at the Amundi Evian Championship, Jeeno Thitikul proved she is the tour’s most consistent force. She successfully defended her title at the CME Group Tour Championship, becoming the first player to take home the massive $4 million winner’s check in back-to-back years.

The triumph served as the perfect capstone to a record-breaking campaign. By finishing with a four-day total of 26-under par, Thitikul secured the Rolex Player of the Year honours and the Vare Trophy. Most impressively, her season-long scoring average of 68.681 shattered Annika Sörenstam’s 23-year-old LPGA record (68.697), etching Thitikul’s name into the history books as the most efficient player the game has seen in the modern era.