In a season that had it all, the LPGA Tour’s 2015 campaign finished with a bang.
Not only did Lydia Ko become the youngest Rolex Player of the Year ever and win her second consecutive Race to the CME Globe $1 million bonus, but Inbee Park parlayed a Vare Trophy triumph into a Hall of Fame clincher. Park still has to meet the 10-year playing requirement – which she will fulfill next season – but for all intents and purposes, she has earned her place among the greats of all time.
The same could be said for Ko in a few years if the uber-talented teen continues to barnstorm her way through the LPGA ranks, and there is no reason to believe she will do anything else. Cristie Kerr earned her second tournament win of the season at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Fla., capping another great year for the American veteran.
It was an exciting and action-packed weekend, and the Tour’s culminating event put an exclamation point on a great year for the LPGA. Ko edged Park for the association’s most prized awards in a razor-thin battle that went to the last weekend, and there’s no doubt Tour officials would welcome a similar scenario again in 2016.
Players from the Republic of Korea came out of the gates quickly, winning the first six events before Kerr found the winner’s circle at the Kia Classic in March. Brittany Lincicome kicked off the major championship season with a win a the ANA Inspiration, and Park, In Gee Chun and Ko followed as major champions.
A whopping eight players – Sei Young Kim, Hyo Joo Kim, Minjee Lee, Chun, Chella Choi, Brooke Henderson, Kris Tamulis and Sun-Ju Ahn – secured their first career LPGA wins, giving the Tour a fresh dose of new stars throughout the season. Sei Young Kim won three times to earn the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award in a year in which the golfing world mourned Suggs’ passing.
The Solheim Cup produced one of its most memorable moments when the U.S. squad mounted a monumental comeback during Sunday singles to snap Team Europe’s two-event winning streak by the slimmest of margins. The Americans scored 8.5 points on the final day to leave St. Leon-Rot, Germany, with a thrilling 14.5-13.5 come-from-behind victory and return the Cup to U.S. soil.
Na Yeon Choi and Lexi Thompson joined Kerr as two-time winners, and the season also saw players like Anna Nordqvist, Suzann Pettersen and Jessica Korda add to their career win totals.
For now, the players can rest, relax and enjoy the holidays with their loved ones. But before too long, the itch will return and their internal GPS systems will lead them back to the practice tee as they prepare for the 2016 campaign, which begins Jan. 28 with the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic.
If this season was any indication of just how strong the LPGA has become again, 2016 should be a year for the ages.
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