With 12 Rolex First-Time Winners and two players who won four titles each last season, many of the LPGA Tour’s top talent flew under the radar in 2023. From major champions to former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1s to LPGA Tour winners, this past year saw more than a few players have sneakily strong seasons, players who could ultimately see the same success in 2024 as both Celine Boutier and Lilia Vu did in 2023. As a fresh, new year looms large with the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on deck next week, take a look at just a few players who could make an impact on the LPGA Tour in 2024 after stellar performances in 2023.
Ayaka Furue
While she threatened to win for a second time on the LPGA Tour more than a few times last season, 2023 felt like a quiet year for Ayaka Furue. On paper though, it was anything but.
After a solid rookie year in 2022 that saw her become a Rolex First-Time Winner at the FREED GROUP Women’s Scottish Open, the Japan native finished 10th in the Race to the CME Globe in 2023, earning eight top-10 finishes. The best of those eight top 10s was a solo second that came at the LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek when Furue ultimately fell to Pajaree Anannarukarn after reaching the final match for a second consecutive year in Las Vegas, Nev.
Furue recorded four other top-five results throughout the 2023 season, two of which came in major championships as the 23-year-old tied for eighth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club and tied for sixth at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
The Rolex Rankings No. 24 ended the year ranked in the top 10 in several statistical categories, most notably finishing second in rounds in the 60s (39), second in driving accuracy (84.76%) and tying for fourth in sub-par rounds (56). According to KPMG Performance Insights, Furue also finished ninth in strokes gained putting (+0.95) and 16th in strokes gained total (+1.30).
Charley Hull
Despite not picking up a third career LPGA Tour victory in 2023, Charley Hull was arguably one of the hottest players on Tour last season. She recorded five top-10 finishes in 18 tournaments in 2023, a solid performance by anyone’s standards, one made even more impressive considering the fact that four of them were runner-up results.
The Englishwoman kicked things into high gear early, tying for second at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and then tying for seventh just two starts later at the LPGA Drive On Championship at Superstition Mountain. She then picked up another T2 result at the U.S. Women’s Open after firing a thrilling, final-round, 6-under 66 as she tried to track down Allisen Corpuz on Sunday at Pebble Beach.
Hull continued her tear in major championships, finishing solo second at the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath Golf Club in her home country just over a month later, and she nearly won the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in September, falling to Minjee Lee in a two-hole playoff at the Kendale Course at Kenwood Country Club.
Not to mention, Hull also finished solo second in the Aramco Team Series – London event on the Ladies European Tour, which makes for a total of five runner-up results worldwide in 2023, an impressive show of golf that should be telling when it comes to predicting Hull’s performance in 2024.
Ariya Jutanugarn
Former Rolex Rankings No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn accomplished a lot on the LPGA Tour during the 2023 season. The 28-year-old helped lead Thailand to its first Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown victory at TPC Harding Park and also picked up five top-10 results, the best of which was a solo second at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give, her best finish on the LPGA Tour since winning the 2021 Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational alongside her sister Moriya.
Three of those top 10s came consecutively in the fall as Jutanugarn finished T7 at the Portland Classic, T5 at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G and T3 at the Buick LPGA Shanghai. She grabbed another top-10 in the penultimate event of the 2023 LPGA Tour season, tying for seventh at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, and ultimately finished 27th in the Race to the CME Globe.
Statistically, things were a touch quieter for Jutanugarn, who most notably ranked fourth in sub-par holes (334) and sixth in birdies (326) in 2023. Additionally, according to KPMG Performance Insights, the major champion ended the season ranked 14th in strokes gained putting, which was her best performance in any of the six main strokes-gained categories.
Hyo Joo Kim
It may seem like a stretch to say that Hyo Joo Kim, who won The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America, flew under the radar last season on the LPGA Tour, but consider this. In addition to her victory, the 28-year-old recorded eight other top-10 results, six of which were T6 or better finishes. Of those six, two came in major championships as the Republic of Korea native finished in a tie for sixth at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach and finished in a tie for fourth at the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath Golf Club.
She missed no cuts in her 20 starts, finishing no worse than T56 on the season and placing inside the top 20 a total of 14 times, excluding her victory at Old American Golf Club. Statistically, Kim led the LPGA Tour last year with 60 sub-par rounds, three better than her closest competitors Brooke Henderson and Atthaya Thitikul, and finished 2023 ranked first in strokes gained total (+2.00), fourth in strokes gained tee to green (+1.65), sixth in strokes gained around the green (+0.38) and ninth in strokes gained approach (+0.91), according to KPMG Performance Insights.
On top of that, Kim was also second in scoring average (69.63), third in birdies (332) and tied for third in rounds in the 60s (38). The six-time LPGA Tour winner finished fourth in the Race to the CME Globe and finished seventh on the Official Money List with $2,123,856 in season earnings, making an average of $106,192.80 per event she played.
Atthaya Thitikul
After a breakout rookie season in 2022 that saw her win twice and ascend to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings for the first time at the ripe old age of 19, it seemed like the sky was the limit for Atthaya Thitikul. Her sophomore season was eagerly awaited as fans were looking forward to seeing the Thai phenom continue to dominate on the biggest stage in women’s golf, and while she might not have picked up a third career victory in 2023 or reascended to world No. 1, Thitikul had plenty of success last season on the LPGA Tour.
Let’s start with the obvious. Thitikul recorded 13 top-10 finishes in 21 total starts, seven of which were top-five results. That equates to a top-10 finish rate of 62%, 12% better than her next closest competitor Nelly Korda who finished in the top 10 50% of the time last season in 18 starts.
She had two runner-up results in 2023, both of which came in the fall as Thitikul tied for second at The Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America and finished second to Celine Boutier after a nine-hole playoff at the inaugural Maybank Championship in Malaysia. The 20-year-old also found the top 10 in two majors, tying for fourth at The Chevron Championship in April and tying for ninth at The Amundi Evian Championship in July.
At the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, Thitikul was awarded the Vare Trophy, an honor given to the player with the lowest scoring average on the LPGA Tour each season. She averaged 69.53 strokes per round in 2023, leading the Tour in rounds in the 60s with 40 total and finishing in a tie for second in sub-par rounds (57). According to KPMG Performance Insights, Thitikul ranked second last season in strokes gained total (+1.89), and she also was second in greens in regulation percentage, hitting the green with her second shot 75.56% of the time.
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