Changkija, DePaulo, Bunkowsky and George walk away with titles at the LPGA Professionals Championship

Held for the second year in a row on the President’s Reserve at Hermitage Golf course located just outside of Nashville, Tenn., the LPGA Professionals Championship once again provided a platform for LPGA and PGA professionals to show off their skills over three rounds of play. The annual tournament featured four divisions: Championship, Challenge, Senior and Super Senior. While a winner was crowned in each division, this competition is best known for offering exemptions into the following year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for the top-eight finishers in the Championship division.

Qualifying for the 2027 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., were Sandra Changkija of Orlando, Fla.; Stephanie Connelly Eiswerth of Jacksonville, Fla,.; Kimberly Paez of Frisco, Texas; Leslie Cloots of Raleigh, N.C.; Nicole Felce of Clearwater, Fla.; Taylor Collins of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Allie Knight of Knoxville, Tenn., and Alexandra (Allie) White of Lancaster, Ohio. Changkija, Connelly Eiswerth, Cloots, Felce, Knight and White each hold the distinction of dual LPGA-PGA affiliation, while Paez and Collins are exclusively PGA members.

Changkija led the way with an inspired week of play that saw her jump out to a share of the lead following round one and she simply never looked back, carding rounds of 4-under 68, 3-under 69 and 1-over 73 to win her second LPGA Professionals Championship at 6-under 210. The two-time PGA Women’s Professional Player of the Year carded 12 birdies and six bogeys over the course of the tournament. This will be her 14th appearance at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship when she tees it up at Congressional Country Club next year.

“It’s a huge honor every year to have the chance to qualify for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship through this tournament,” said Changkija. “As a former LPGA Tour player, I’ve come to appreciate how special an opportunity it is to compete in a major, and especially one that is consistently held at top courses across the nation. Looking ahead to next year, I’m really excited to return to Congressional after having played there in 2022. It’s a great course and I’m a huge fan of the food in Maryland, especially the crab cakes.”

Lisa DePaulo of Austin, Texas, fought through a four-hole playoff to claim her second Senior division title. The former LPGA Tour athlete played steady golf throughout the tournament with rounds of even-par 72, 1-under 71 and 3-under 69 to earn her place in a three-way playoff at 4-under 212. This was certainly familiar territory for DePaulo, who lost in a playoff at the 2025 LPGA Professionals Championship. This time however, she came out victorious after playing four sudden-death holes that ended with her making a birdie on the par-5 No. 18. DePaulo is a longtime member of the LPGA Professionals who is one of the few members to win in both the Championship (2007) and Senior (2023, ‘26) divisions.

“Considering I turned 60 this last November, this win means a lot!” said DePaulo. “I have been working on my game with my coach Ron Stockton, in addition to my fitness and mental game. To be able to show some of my students and customers that I can still play truly means a lot. I must admit, losing in a playoff last year really sat with me and I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes in this year’s playoff. So yes, it’s very gratifying!”

Barbara Bunkowsky of West Palm Beach, Fla., won the Super Senior division in her first attempt. This division features players aged 62 and up. Bunkowsky entered the final round with a two-shot lead but quickly left her playing partners in the dust, matching the best round of the tournament with a 5-under 67 to win by eight shots at 3-under 213. Bunkowsky received the Shirley Spork Super Senior trophy as champion, named in honor of one of the 13 LPGA Founders who was a driving force in creating a teaching division within the organization that has since become the LPGA Professionals.

“I’ve actually really been struggling with my game,” Bunkowsky explained. “I was telling someone coming into this tournament that it didn’t matter if I won or not, as long as I played well. Like, I can’t remember the last time I shot under par, so to go out there today and shoot 5-under was unbelievable. I honestly didn’t even know what my score was while I was out there. I just kept taking it one hole at a time, one shot at a time. It’s a really nice feeling to win this one.”

Finally, Stephanie George of Wellington, Fla., successfully defended her title in the Challenge division. She entered the final round with a slim, one-shot lead at 2-over 146, but got off to a hot start with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 to make the turn at 2-under 34. Those birdies ultimately proved to be the difference as she struggled down the stretch with four bogeys on the back nine, but still managed to hold on for the two-shot victory at 4-over 220.

“This one was pretty special because I had some of my members out this week supporting me,” George said. “I couldn’t wait to bring the trophy back home to them and the club. I wanted it for more than just myself this time, which is a fun thing to play for.”

Eight Industry Professionals Earn Their Place at the 2027 KPMG Women's PGA Championship

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