2025 LPGA Season Odds and Ends

[iBanesto]

18 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

JYK's engagement ring?

She's looking happy (the girlish squeals as she was doing "zombie movie" interval training = can't be faked ... timestamp ~8mins) 

...albeit the spartan life of a champion (or wannabe champion) = looks like extreme dedication

... hopefully she budgets some time for non-golf-related fun, so she doesn't suffer burn-out?

 

 

 

Not sure but she has worn a ring on the wedding finger in the past though.

 

[18majors]

Slowly, Nelly is breaking out of her shell!  It's good for her and for LPGA:

 

 

[18majors]

@AKL Kiwi

 

Lydia is only one year older:

 

[18majors]

 

Is it right to promote Charley Hull ahead of the much younger and better Ronni Yin or Jeeno Thitikul:

 

[Rapidcat]

9 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Is it right to promote Charley Hull ahead of the much younger and better Ronni Yin or Jeeno Thitikul:

 

 

Aimed at appealing to Euro fans I suspect.

[AKL Kiwi]

10 hours ago, 18majors said:

Lydia is only one year older:

Lydia has 30 professional wins, Nelly has 20. Injuries have not helped  Nelly compared to Lydia who has rarely needed to skip a tournament.  Lydia has won against the best in many different countries around the  world so I think even if Nelly also makes it into the HOF her  international record will not be near as impressive as Lydia's let alone the number of world records she holds all of which Nelly can't now achieve.

 

On other news and I have to be very careful how I write this as the mods just gave me a warning for using a certain name but I wonder how Brooke feels about the possibility of being in the 2026 Solheim Cup team.... 

[JungleJimbo]

10 hours ago, 18majors said:

 

Is it right to promote Charley Hull ahead of the much younger and better Ronni Yin or Jeeno Thitikul:

 

 

24 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

 

Aimed at appealing to Euro fans I suspect.

 

@Rapidcat "+1" ... photo was used for that LPGA survey that was posted circa 17/18 Dec 2024. 

Presumably they will choose the photo based on the context/ objective, and so in this context, Charley Hull (or another Euro rep) makes sense w.r.t. driving survey engagement? (more potential Euro respondents, vs Thailand, and vs folks who can jump China's "great firewall" to access twitter?)

 

 

Edited January 7 by JungleJimbo

[Rapidcat]

Makes sense.

 

Charley has by far the largest following of the current Euro players, as an example 7x more Instagram followers than Linn, 8x more than Georgia, 14x more than Celine (18majors will be impressed with my Insta stats).

 

In conjunction with that she garnered a lot of PR this past season.

[JungleJimbo]

33 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

Makes sense.

 

Charley has by far the largest following of the current Euro players, as an example 7x more Instagram followers than Linn, 8x more than Georgia, 14x more than Celine (18majors will be impressed with my Insta stats).

 

In conjunction with that she garnered a lot of PR this past season.

 

@Rapidcat
You're tracking IG followers now too? 🙂 

[Rapidcat]

38 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

 

@Rapidcat
You're tracking IG followers now too? 🙂 

 

Not as intently as some but relevant to this discussion.

 

However I will always ignore Muni He's # of followers from a purely golf perspective.

 

[JungleJimbo]

Saw this video "Can an LPGA Pro beat 2 average dudes?" and thought of similar discussions on this Forum. 

 

Based on a quick google-search... "Kayley Marschke" = is (or was) a WAPT tour pro, maybe Epson Tour too? (with presumably a 2nd job as   a Real Estate agent in Nashville TN).

 

[3eagles]

3 hours ago, Rapidcat said:

Makes sense.

 

Charley has by far the largest following of the current Euro players, as an example 7x more Instagram followers than Linn, 8x more than Georgia, 14x more than Celine (18majors will be impressed with my Insta stats).

 

In conjunction with that she garnered a lot of PR this past season.

Lotta ig followers have never watched golf. They look at women in workout wear. 

[Rapidcat]

24 minutes ago, 3eagles said:

Lotta ig followers have never watched golf. They look at women in workout wear. 

 

I don't disagree

[iBanesto]

7 hours ago, Rapidcat said:

 

Aimed at appealing to Euro fans I suspect.

 

Nah... appealing to the smokers obviously.

 

 

[DuenPhen]

The Honda National Qualifier is underway! We are going from 88 to 55 to 1 over 36 holes.

 

Every entrant must be a Thai citizen, but that doesn't mean she has to play for Thailand. Looking at you, Louise Uma Landgraf.

 

As is par for Honda, Sim is leading. Pavarisa is hot on her heels. Jaravee is a bit further back. Landgraf, the youngest to ever win a professional tournament (over Jeeno), is +1.

 

 

Edited January 7 by DuenPhen

[JungleJimbo]

1 hour ago, DuenPhen said:

The Honda National Qualifier is underway! We are going from 88 to 55 to 1 over 36 holes.

 

Every entrant must be a Thai citizen, but that doesn't mean she has to play for Thailand. Looking at you, Louise Uma Landgraf.

 

As is par for Honda, Sim is leading. Pavarisa is hot on her heels. Jaravee is a bit further back. Landgraf, the youngest to ever win a professional tournament (over Jeeno), is +1.

 

 

Thanks @DuenPhen   .  Is Eila Galitsky not playing the pre-qualifier / focused on Uni studies perhaps?

[DuenPhen]

8 minutes ago, JungleJimbo said:

Thanks @DuenPhen   .  Is Eila Galitsky not playing the pre-qualifier / focused on Uni studies perhaps?

I would be truly shocked if she doesn't have a sponsor invite. She got one last year after failing the Qualifier, so there's no need for all that rigamarole.

 

Eila is not starting university until this fall.

[Rapidcat]

2 hours ago, iBanesto said:

 

Nah... appealing to the smokers obviously.

 

 

 

Also

 

 

 

[Seamus_McDuff]

57 minutes ago, DuenPhen said:

I would be truly shocked if she doesn't have a sponsor invite. She got one last year after failing the Qualifier, so there's no need for all that rigamarole.

 

Eila is not starting university until this fall.

 

https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2024/11/18/anderson-inks-another-top-five-signing-class/

[iBanesto]

17 minutes ago, Rapidcat said:

 

Also

 

 

 

 

[WorkItBothWays]

On 1/6/2025 at 4:05 PM, 18majors said:

 

Is it right to promote Charley Hull ahead of the much younger and better Ronni Yin or Jeeno Thitikul:

 

 

I agree but I do understand it. Charley Hull is very much like a female Ricke Fowler in terms of appeal. Personally I'd rather watch Ronni Yin or Jeeno Thitikul.

[Lobby]

On 1/6/2025 at 9:53 PM, JungleJimbo said:

Saw this video "Can an LPGA Pro beat 2 average dudes?" and thought of similar discussions on this Forum. 

 

Based on a quick google-search... "Kayley Marschke" = is (or was) a WAPT tour pro, maybe Epson Tour too? (with presumably a 2nd job as   a Real Estate agent in Nashville TN).

 

I saw that video also. 
 

I didn’t click on it though. Looked like nonsense to me

 

 

[DuenPhen]

And we are down to one.

 

17-year-old, world #70 amateur Pimpisa Rubrong (Fai) has won the Honda National Qualifier for the first LPGA appearance of her career.

 

 

[ChronicSlicer]

On 1/6/2025 at 10:33 AM, 18majors said:

@AKL Kiwi

 

Lydia is only one year older:

 

I could only imagine the attention Lyds would have got had she been a 5'11", Caucasian blonde American.

[3eagles]

4 hours ago, ChronicSlicer said:

I could only imagine the attention Lyds would have got had she been a 5'11", Caucasian blonde American.

Couldn't do anything about race, height, nation of origin but I do remember she tried the blond look for a few months. 👍

 

[WorkItBothWays]

20 hours ago, DuenPhen said:

And we are down to one.

 

17-year-old, world #70 amateur Pimpisa Rubrong (Fai) has won the Honda National Qualifier for the first LPGA appearance of her career.

 

 

The golfing talent coming from this country is impressive.

[JungleJimbo]

5 hours ago, WorkItBothWays said:

The golfing talent coming from this country is impressive.

 

@WorkItBothWays : you might enjoy these articles on Thailand's increasing number of pro players in the LPGA.

 

https://www.lpga.com/news/2023/the-lpga-thai-explosion-traces-back-to-ariya-jutanugarn  (from 2023-01-30)

 

https://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/move-over-south-korea-the-next-wave-of-top-international-female-golfers-are-coming-from-here/ 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/17/sports/golf/thai-golfers-are-making-gains-in-force-on-the-lpga-tour.html (archived version here)

 

Quote

 

The Factors Leading To The Thai Explosion On The LPGA Tour

lpga.com/news/2023/the-lpga-thai-explosion-traces-back-to-ariya-jutanugarn

Amy Rogers

Amy Rogers

Amy Rogers is an award winning multimedia journalist and freelance writer who has covered professional golf since 2007. She is a contributor to LPGA.com in addition to the Golf Channel and BBC's coverage of the LPGA Tour.

 

Superstars from around the world have made the LPGA Tour what it is today - a global organization with members from 36 countries, which includes an ever-growing contingent from Thailand. And that’s where the LPGA Tour makes its next stop.

 

 

The Honda LPGA Thailand kicks off a three-week stretch of events that make up the Tour’s annual Asia swing. In 2023, nearly a dozen Thai players are poised to compete in the 16th playing of the Honda LPGA Thailand. It's an event that is particularly special to those who call the country home. In 2021, Thailand’s own Ariya Jutanguarn became the first Thai to win the championship in what was one of the proudest moments of her career.

 

 

“I’m always told myself the only tournament I really wanted to win, and I haven’t won yet is LPGA in Thailand,” Jutanugarn said in 2022, following her victory. “You know, I didn’t want to say this to other people, but one of my biggest dreams was to win in my home country. And I did it last year. It just feels great.”

 

 

In 1998, Se Ri Pak ushered in a new, global era in the women’s game when she inspired a generation of Korean girls with her win at the U.S. Women’s Open. Within a decade her impact was felt on the LPGA Tour when Inbee Park won her first major title in 2008, also at the U.S. Women’s Open. Currently, there are 28 players from Korea who are members of the LPGA Tour.

 

 

While young girls in Thailand didn’t have a female star like Pak to aspire to, they drew their own inspiration from their male counterparts, Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who competed on the DP World and PGA Tours. And in 2004, Russy Gulyanamitta became the first player from Thailand to join the LPGA Tour. 

 

 

By 2015, six Thai players had followed in Gulyanamitta’s footsteps, including Ariya, who would become a pioneer for women’s golf. In 2016, Jutanugarn became the first player from Thailand, male or female, to win one of golf’s major championships with her victory at the AIG Women’s Open. She also became the first Thai to ascend to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings.

 

 

While it took a decade before Pak’s impact was felt on the LPGA Tour, it took half as long for players from Thailand to make a mark in Jutanugarn’s wake.

 

 

In 2021, Patty Tavatanakit became the second Thai to capture a major title when she won the Chevron Championship. And in 2022, Atthaya Thitikul joined Jutanugarn as the only other player from Thailand to reach the top of the Rolex Rankings.

 

 

Third behind only the United States and the Republic of Korea in terms of numbers, Thailand currently boasts 14 LPGA Tour members. Five of those players - Atthaya Thitikul, Patty Tavatanakit, Moriya Jutanugarn, Ariya Jutanugarn, and Pajaree Anannarukarn - are ranked within the top 100 in the Rolex Rankings and each of them has won on the LPGA Tour.

 

 

Two decades ago it would have been tough to imagine the influence that the young girls of Korea and Thailand might someday have on the women’s game. But pioneers from across the globe like Pak, Park, Jutanugarn, and Thitikul have made an impact the likes of which the women’s game has never seen. And these superstars helped make the LPGA Tour the global one that it is today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

 

Move over South Korea. The next wave of top international female golfers are coming from here

australiangolfdigest.com.au/move-over-south-korea-the-next-wave-of-top-international-female-golfers-are-coming-from-here

August 18, 2021

August 19th, 2021

By Kent Paisley

The LPGA has been a bimodal world since Se Ri Pak elevated South Korean golf by winning the 1998 US Women’s Open. Since then, South Korea and the United States have dominated the tour, with their respective flags – both featuring red, white, and blue – peppering the top of the tour’s leaderboards.

 

But a third red, white, and blue banner is emerging among the duelling powers in 2021. In 21 tournaments played on the LPGA Tour this season, tour pros from Thailand have the second-most victories (four) of any country, ahead of South Korea (three) and trailing only the USA (seven).Ask most observers and they’ll tell you the rise of Thai talent on tour is the 15-year payoff of the LPGA creating a tour stop in the country in 2006 with the launch of the Honda LPGA Thailand.

“Just bringing the event to Thailand every single year, it’s been a big impact,” said Patty Tavatanakit, a 21-year-old rookie who earned a breakthrough victory in April when she won the ANA Inspiration. “I can say for a fact I wouldn’t grow up going to those events and watch them play and make it my dream to come out here.”Two years before the Honda LPGA Thailand began, Russy Gulyanamitta became the first Thai golfer to reach the tour. Indeed, the nation wasn’t worth mentioning among golf powers at the time. In 2006, just one Thai golfer recorded one lone top-10 finish, Virada Nirapathpongporn’s T-5 at the LPGA Corning Classic.

Even so, Honda Automobile, the Thai-based title sponsor, started laying the groundwork for the rise of golf within the country, using its sponsor’s invitations on local Thai players. In the tournament’s first year, current tour members Pornanong Phatlum and Jasmine Suwannapura (an eventual two-time tour winner) made their maiden LPGA starts. Subsequently, Moriya Jutanugarn (2009), Ariya Jutanugarn (2010), Tavatanakit (2015) and Pajaree Anannarukarn (2017), the four LPGA winners from Thailand this year, all made their first appearances on tour at the event.

 

More importantly, the tournament’s investment in golf reached the grassroots level. Tournament officials hosted golf clinics with LPGA players during the week to teach the game to Thai kids. Pro-am parties let participants learn more about life on tour. Tavatanakit recalled soaking in all the Honda LPGA Thailand could offer her golf dreams in 2012. She participated in a clinic, then attended the pro-am party with a friend that let her talk with Christina Kim and take a photo with Paula Creamer.

“Little moments like that keep on inspiring my younger self,” Tavatanakit said. “I’m sure I believe younger people, younger kids would feel inspired too if they have those moments.”In turn, the investment set in motion what would be the game’s explosive growth within the country. A decade later Ariya Jutanugarn won the 2016 Ricoh British Women’s Open, making her the first Thai player to win a Major. In her post-round victory press conference, Jutanugarn kept her aims small but meaningful.

“I hope I can inspire somebody in Thai [to take up golf],” Jutanugarn said after her victory.

 

Jutanugarn’s win launched its own surge of Thai LPGA victories. In the past six years, Thai players have won 18 LPGA tournaments. That’s the third most of any country over that time, trailing only South Korea (55) and the United States (37).

Moriya Jutanugarn, older sister of Ariya, is among four Thai golfers to win on the LPGA Tour in 2021. [Photo: Carmen Mandato]

In signs of the exponential growth, the 18 victories are more than half the top-10s Thai LPGA members had from the preceding decade (32) after the creation of the Honda LPGA Thailand in 2006 to 2015.

Ariya (12 wins including the most recent with her sister) holds the bulk of Thai LPGA trophies, but the list of winners is expanding. Suwanapurra and Moriya Jutanugarn won for the first time in 2018, having two victories each. Tavatanakit and Anannarukarn joined their compatriots this year.

 

Thailand’s growing talent extends beyond its winners. Atthaya Thitikul almost won the Honda LPGA Thailand this season, if not for Ariya snatching victory out of her hands with a final-round 63 to beat Thitikul by one and to become the first Thai player to win the tournament. The 18-year-old Thitikul is impressing on two tours in 2021. She hasn’t finished outside the top-five in four starts on the LPGA and sits atop the Ladies European Tour moneylist with a victory and seven top-10s in ten starts on the LET. Wichanee Meechai posted her career-best T-5 at the Pure Silk Championship this year and finished T-8 at the ISPS Handa World Invitational.

Phatlum finished runner-up at the 2018 Women’s British Open. Despite tropical Thailand and temperate UK’s opposing climates, Thai players have finished in the top two in three of the past five AIG Women’s Opens. Suwannapura finished second to Sophia Popov in 2020.“I envision us to be sort of like the [South] Koreans, where we’re always on top of the leaderboard,” Tavatanakit said. “A lot of times we’re just on top of leaderboards on top of each other. I feel like every time I see that, I feel so proud that we as a country, we can also be dominant and do this out here [on the LPGA].”

Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, founders of Vision54, have their fingerprints all over the rising Thai depth. They’ve worked with the Jutanugarns for the past six seasons, Tavatanakit for the past two years, as well as Anannarukarn and Meechai attending Vision54’s golf schools. The pair noticed the growth of Thai golf within the increased enrollment in their academy and the additional demand for their coaching.

 

“We have had about 15 Thai players coming for coaching or our golf schools,” Nilsson said via e-mail. “Lots of interest among Thai teachers to come to the US for training or do our remote trainings.”

Many point to Atthaya Thitikul, a three-time Ladies European Tour winner, as Thailand’s next breakout star golfer. [Photo: Thananuwat Srirasant]

The current Thai success on the LPGA is fuelling the churning wheel that’s led to expansive growth in women’s golf in Thailand. Investment in opportunities leads to inspiring moments, leading to more players on the LPGA, leading to further investment in opportunities.

The Trust Scottish Open last week is the latest example of Thailand’s continued connection with the LPGA. It’s the second tour event with a Thai-based company, Trust Golf, as the title sponsor. Like the Honda LPGA Thailand, Trust Golf provided opportunities to players from its homeland, with 11 Thai players in the field.

 

“I feel like it’s more like Thai Tour right now,” Meechai said after the first round of the Scottish Open. “Like you see, meet a lot of Thai girls and can speak Thai with them. I feel so comfortable with them. I love it.”

Thai players were in contention as well at Dumbarnie Links. Ariya [fourth] and Thitikul [T-2] finished inside the top-10.

Former LPGA commissioner Mike Whan singled out Thailand as a thriving example of how podium sports in the Olympics can fuel golf’s growth within a nation; Ariya Jutanugarn and Tavatanakit representing the country in the Tokyo Games two weeks ago. South Korea and the United States have owned women’s golf at the Games, being the only two nations to send four athletes (the Olympics requiring each player to be inside the top 15 in the Olympic Golf Rankings to have more than two representatives). Each country further asserted itself by winning a gold medal, with Inbee Park (2016) and Nelly Korda (2020) the two modern-day gold medallists.

 

The 2024 Games is where Tavatanakit has her eye for the next step of Thai golf’s rise into the LPGA powers.

“Hopefully by the time we get to Paris,” Tavatanakit said, “there will be four players from Thailand.”

Ariya JutanugarnAtthaya ThitikulJasmine SuwannapuraLPGAMoriya JutanugarnPajaree AnannarukarnPatty TavatanakitPia NilssonPornanong PhatlumRussy GulyanamittaThailandVirada NirapathpongpornWichanee Meechai

© 2025 Australian Golf Digest. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 9 by JungleJimbo

[DuenPhen]

After 2 days, Asia-Pacific leads Europe 11.5-8.5 for the Patsy Hankins Trophy.

 

Big match up tomorrow as Eila Galitsky opens against Lottie Woad.

 

 

[ChronicSlicer]

On 1/6/2025 at 11:05 AM, 18majors said:

 

Is it right to promote Charley Hull ahead of the much younger and better Ronni Yin or Jeeno Thitikul:

 

I'll steal a play from your play book. Ronni and Jeeno haven't been able gain 100k IG followers between them, even though as you point out they are much better players. Charley much like Muni He, doesn't gain followers or fans based on her winning golf tournaments. Sex sells, always has, always will. Charley and her team realize this and have definitely used it to their advantage. As do 95% of the IG/YouTube female golf community. No reason to beat around the bush on the subject...

 

As soon as Nataliya Guseva starts posting photos like Charley she'll be the next one gaining "golf fans" by the thousands. Hopefully she's not concerned with "followers", but is concerned about winning golf tournaments.

 

 

[3eagles]

Cool that this post was put up by NHL.

Canada loves their Brooke!