The LPGA recognized multiple winners at the 2025 Rolex LPGA Awards, held last Monday night in Naples, Florida, in advance of the CME Group Tour Championship.
Minjee Lee received the Rolex Annika Major Award, given to the player who performs best in all five LPGA major championships. Lee is the first player to win the award twice after first winning it in 2022.
“I consistently work hard throughout the whole year to be able to contend in majors and in events and I think just all the hard work compounded together with a little bit of confidence,” Lee said.
The 29-year-old Australian won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at PGA Frisco in June. She finished T3 at the Amundi Evian Championship, T13 at the AIG Women’s Open, T14 at the Chevron Championship and T22 at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Miyu Yamashita was recognized as the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year.
The 24-year-old Japanese player made her first LPGA title a major, winning the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl in August. She won her second title earlier this month at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia. Yamashita made the cut in 22 of 24 starts and posted 12 top-10 finishes.
“I am truly honored to win this award,” Yamashita said. “I am very happy to stand here today. I am also grateful to have my name included among many wonderful players who have won this award before me. I will keep working hard and try to win many more tournaments.”
LPGA veteran Lindy Duncan won the Heather Farr Perseverance Award, while two-time major winner Stacy Lewis, who announced her retirement in September, won the Founders Award, given to a player who best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA. Arizona teaching pro Marvol Bernard won the Ellen Griffin Rolex Award, while the Commissioner’s Award was given to the LPGA’s Hall of Fame inductees for contributing uniquely to the LPGA and its members. Hall of Famers Betsy King, Lydia Ko, Nancy Lopez, Judy Rankin and Annika Sörenstam were on hand to accept.
Last Wednesday, LPGA commissioner Craig Kessler updated the media on the state of the tour four months into his tenure.
Kessler kicked off with a PowerPoint slide titled “Our Flyweel” intended to lay out his plan for success.
“Here’s how we think about our flywheel: it starts with improving the product,” Kessler explained. “That includes broadcast quality, predictability, building connections between fans and players. When we’re successful at that it leads to two things. The first, stickier fans, and then second, it gives us the ability to run a fan acquisition strategy and drive new eyeballs towards the LPGA.
“If we’re successful in doing that there are three really wonderful outcomes. The first is ideally we drive incremental demand to host our tournaments, which drives up purses and our athletes will benefit from [that] tremendously. Second, it helps with our media rights. Third, it helps draw interest from official marketing partners, which at 9 o’clock on the flywheel now helps us deliver incremental positive cash, which we reinvest back in the product, and the circle of life goes around and around.”
The LPGA will upgrade its broadcast quality in 2026 thanks to a multi-year deal with commercial property insurer FM that was announced last Tuesday. Under the agreement, every round of every LPGA tournament will be televised live next year, with rounds that otherwise would have been streamed or tape-delayed now slated to air live on Golf Channel or CNBC.
FM’s investment will enable a 50-percent increase in the number of cameras deployed at tournaments and more drone coverage. And a related partnership with Trackman will quadruple the shot-tracing capabilities on LPGA telecasts.
Moreover, the tour’s 2026 schedule revealed last Wednesday features 33 tournaments offering a record $132 million in purses.
Jennifer Kupcho won the 2025 Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a season-long competition that rewards players for their performance on the most challenging holes on tour. Players take their best two scores from designated challenge holes and, at the end of the regular season, the player with the best average score to par is deemed the winner.
Kupcho entered the Annika tournament in fourth place, but a birdie and an eagle on the par-5 14th hole at Pelican Golf Club rocketed her to victory and a $1 million prize.
“I’m honored to win the Aon Risk Reward Challenge and to be recognized for the strategy and decision-making that goes into every round,” Kupcho said. “It’s an incredible feeling to join the list of past champions and to know that my performance this season reflects the values this challenge celebrates.”
Kupcho joins a winners list that includes Jeeno Thitikul, Angel Yin, Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Carlota Ciganda.
Everett Munez