Highlights From a Memorable 2024 LPGA Season

Nelly Korda's dominance was one of several bright spots for the LPGA, which will embark on its 75th season in 2025.

Nelly Korda, in addition to her individual dominance, was part of the first U.S. Solheim Cup team to win in seven years. / Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

The news hasn't stopped since the LPGA season finale at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

Commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan announced she was stepping down. In early December the LPGA (and USGA) updated gender policies to reflect the voices of 275 female golfers who sent a letter to the organization and the USGA in October, asking them to repeal the policies that allowed transgender women, particularly Hailey Davidson, to compete in women’s golf.

The LPGA concluded its 2024 season in record-breaking fashion at the CME Group Tour Championship when Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand won the title of Race to CME Globe Champion and the $4 million winner’s check, the largest first-place prize in women’s golf. She also took home the $1 million Aon Risk Reward Challenge earlier that week to make it a stunning $5 million payday for the 21-year-old, now ranked fourth in the world.

This was arguably the LPGA’s breakout year in terms of reaching new audiences, handing out groundbreaking payouts for players and delivering unforgettable winning performances. This season included an Olympics, a Solheim Cup and a historic five-win streak by world No. 1 Nelly Korda but 2025 could be the best yet—it’ll be the 75th season of the LPGA, the longest-running women’s professional sports association.

Here’s a look back at the season’s best moments and performances:

• Nelly Korda, the Rolex Player of the Year and Annika Major Award winner, earns seven victories including a fifth straight at the Chevron for her second major. She’s the third player since 1978 to win five consecutive events and the first American to win seven times since 1990. She’s also the first since 2016 to win a major while being ranked No.1. Korda finished the 2024 season shooting in the 60s in 63.2% of her rounds played, the highest single-season percentage by a player with at least 50 rounds played, according to Golf Channel.

• Lydia Ko, the Heather Farr Perseverance Award winner, wins Olympic gold and earns the final point to become the youngest player (at 27) to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. She also won her third major at the AIG Women’s Open leaving her with one major left to complete the career Grand Slam.

• The Americans win the Solheim Cup, 15 ½–12 ½, for the first time since 2017. Lilia Vu wins the clinching point.

• Rising stars and best friends Ruoning Yin and Jeeno Thitikul combine for five wins including the Dow Championship while teamed together. Yin won two of her three starts during the LPGA’s fall Asian swing and Thitikul, in addition to winning the tour championship, led the LPGA in scoring average (69.54).

2024 LPGA Season By The Numbers

• 3: First-time winners: Lauren Coughlin (CPKC Women’s Open), Linnea Strom (ShopRite LPGA Classic) and Bailey Tardy (Blue Bay PGA).

• 3: Three-time winners (Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and Hannah Green)

• 5: Straight wins by Nelly Korda, the third such streak in LPGA history. Her fifth win at the Chevron Championship peaked at 1.9 million viewers during the final round Sunday on NBC, making it one of the most-watched LPGA events of the year according to USA Today. The average viewership was 936,000 during the entire final round.

• 7: Years since the U.S. had won the Solheim Cup before this year's triumph. The event averaged 657,000 viewers on NBC; more than double the 277,000 viewers on Golf Channel in 2023, according to Sports Business Journal.

• 29: Total aces recorded this year, totaling $580,000 in donations for St. Jude. The season also saw five or more aces at a single event (2024 Maybank Championship) for the first time since 2019.

• 34: Players earning at least $1 million in official money, with 10 surpassing $2 million.

• 34.3 million: Social media impressions by Caitlin Clark in the Annika driven by Gainbridge pro-am according to Sportskeeda.

The LPGA also said goodbye to some longtime fan favorites in Lexi Thompson, Ally Ewing and Marina Alex at the season finale. Thompson (11-time winner), Ewing (three-time winner) and Alex (two-time winner) all bid farewell to full time competition along with eight-time winner Brittany Lincicome. Twelve players in all announced they would be stepping away from full-time play.

2025 LPGA Outlook

The new year is already bringing a few surprises to the LPGA. With a new commissioner to be announced, Liz Moore, the LPGA’s chief legal and technology officer and corporate secretary, will assume the role of interim commissioner. The LPGA also updated its gender policy to reflect that “players must be assigned female at birth or have transitioned to female before going through puberty to compete in LPGA tournaments.”

It is admirable that the LPGA  put the issue of transgender women competing in biological women's sports to rest so quickly, with women’s golf poised to follow the rising popularity of women’s basketball and women’s soccer.

The 2025 season will be the year to fully dial into women’s golf for many reasons. The LPGA enjoyed record attendance in 2024 and the LPGA Foundation boosted the number of women and girls playing golf. Ahead of the season finale, the LPGA announced that it would award over $131 million in prize money across 35 events in the upcoming year. Women’s golf has shown continued growth and success since 2021 with a 90% prize-money increase of over $62 million in the past four years. The tour will span to 14 U.S. states and 11 other countries in 2025. One of the newest events introduced is the Black Desert Championship that will be held in May, which will be the only domestic event to provide private charters for LPGA players. The Black Desert Resort’s course, with its stunning appearance, drew acclaim this fall when it hosted a FedEx Cup Fall PGA Tour event. The tour will also make a stop in Mexico in May for the first time since 2017 for the Riviera Maya Open in Cancun.

The LPGA has also listened to its critics and will provide players with new benefits throughout the season. Travel stipends, free accommodations and guaranteed minimum payouts will all be part of 2025 tournaments. Major championship season will also be more exciting  with the LPGA Tour pros competing for more than $47 million at three new major-championship venues. TV coverage will also be larger than ever and expanding beyond Golf Channel with at least seven events airing nationally on NBC and four on CBS.

With plenty of emerging stars in the LPGA, the 2025 season will take ratings and interest in women’s golf to its highest level ever.

One of the biggest challenges the LPGA will face is figuring out the best ways to elevate and expand women’s golf to larger audiences. There was a significant increase in social media engagement in 2024 among the LPGA and their fans. The LPGA Tour currently has 655,000 followers on Instagram. Athletes like Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko saw their following increase exponentially this season as a result of their standout performances, which drew more attention to the LPGA.

WNBA star Caitlin Clark also gave the LPGA a boost when she played in the pro-am along with Nelly Korda and Annika Sorenstam at the Annika in late November. Golf Channel adjusted times to showcase Clark’s round, another example of women’s sports unprecedented wave of mainstream popularity. Audiences will watch women’s sports when given proper exposure and marketing support.

The LPGA is loaded with many talented women who are aware of their responsibilities to take the extra time to showcase their sport on the big screen. During the season, Nelly Korda became the face of the LPGA and extended herself to opportunities such as appearing in the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and attending the popular Met Gala, the first golfer to do so since Tiger Woods in 2013. Women’s golf is a great, watchable product, with players from all around the world an additional gem for the LPGA to build on in 2025. Look for emerging stars who are eager to have their moment on the biggest stages and in prime time.