Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, The Ladies Professional Golf Association( LPGA) is an association for female golfers worldwide. LPGA, or the Women‘s Professional Golf Association formerly, is the oldest women‘s sports organization continuing since 1950, seventy- three years since its founding by Ellen Griffin, Betty Hicks, and Hope Seignious.
The LPGA established the Hall of Fame of Women‘s Golf, which evolved into the World Golf Hall of Fame and is known for indicting promising female golfers of all ages into the LPGA Tour through the qualifying academy annually. With several American and global apprentices being administered into the 2023 class, there’s wide competition and, indeed, greater diversity.
From the 2022 Epson Tour graduates and the incoming LPGA Q-series, there are a number of gorgeous and accomplished female golfers entering the LPGA rookie class of 2023. From age 18 to 31 and more, the longest-running women’s organization has put many young and talented beautiful women against each other in many charitable tournaments.
So, before the start of the next tournament season, let’s take a look at the hottest LPGA female golfers of 2023, ranked from top to bottom, for you to get familiar with.
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1. Alexa Pano
Ranking number one, the former Netflix star Alexa Pano from the United States is an 18-year-old American who tied at 21st for the Q-series to earn her LPGA card. This standout junior player decided to overlook college golf and turned professional at just the age of seventeen.
Previously having starred in ‘The Short Game,’ Alexa Pano acquired her fame by becoming the youngest JLPGA Tour player at eleven years. Hailing from Florida, Pano became the first three-time finalist in the Drive, Chip, and Putt competition and also made a whopping $76,000 in Epson Tour career earnings after earning her LPGA Tour Card in 2023.
2. Minjee Lee
Twenty-seven-year-old Minjin Lee from Perth, Australia, stepped into the game when she became the number one amateur golfer in 2014, holding that title until turning professional later that year.
With a total career earning of around $12,00,000, Lee bagged her first major victory at The Amundi Evian Championship in 2021, followed by her second major victory at the U.S. Women’s Open, and also represented her country at the 2016 Olympics. With her brother Min Woo Lee also a professional golfer, the brother-sister duo both won the USGA Junior Championships, the first sibling pair to do so.
Also Read: Min Woo Lee’s Net Worth: How Much Does The Professional Golf Player Earn?
3. Yuna Nishimura
Six-time winner of the Japanese LPGA, Yuna Nishimura, is a 23-year-old professional golfer with the 2018 Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur runner-up under her cap.
Hailing from Osaka, Japan, Nishimura has participated in a total of five LPGA Tour events and gained six career victories since turning professional in 2019. She currently stands forty-fourth in the LPGA professional ranking.
4. Ana Belac
Belac, from Portoroz, Slovenia, earned her way into the LPGA Tour membership after her grand finish in the 2020 Ascensus Race after turning professional.
The first-ever Slovenian player to join the LPGA, in 2020, Belac won the titles of Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year, along with the Symetra Tour Player of the Year. With the additional $55,000 in career earnings through the win in the Carolina Golf Classic during the Epson Tour, Belac has a total of $160,000 in her overall LPGA Tour earnings.
5. Ellinor Sudow
One of the 2023 LPGA tour rookies, Ellinor Sudow of Sweden, is a 24-year-old golfer who turned professional in 2022. Previously focused on gymnastics, Sudow took up golf at twelve years of age, inspired by her former LPGA Tour player aunt Mikaela Parmlid.
After playing collegiate at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte as well as the University of Arizona in 2021, Sudow finished third in the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open Championship as an amateur in 2022.
6. Lexi Thompson
Lexi Thompson made history by qualifying for the US Women’s Open at the age of twelve, becoming the youngest person with the achievement. Currently number 7 in the LPGA standings, she has to her credit a total of 11 wins on the LPGA Tour. With sponsorship deals like Cobra-Puma Golf and Red Bull under her belt, this gorgeous American golfer also has her own skincare beauty brand, Lexi Skin.
Although she has a blooming career now with one major win during the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship at just 21, Thompson turned professional at age 15 and went on to win the LPGA Tournament at 16. Lexi Thompson also became the second-youngest person to win the Ladies European Tour.
7. Jessica Korda
Czech-American LPGA Tour golfer Jessica Korda, who is currently on a break to heal her sustained back injury, is a five-time LPGA Tournament winner. She finished T19 during her U.S. Open Debut, followed by a whopping runner-up finish at the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Jessica gained her first professional win soon after during the 2012 Women’s Australian Open season. Korda comes from a great family of athletes, with a pro tennis player Petr Korda as her dad and fellow LPGA Tour member Nelly Korda as her sister.
Currently married to her long-time boyfriend and professional golfer Johnny DelPrete, in May 2023, Korda announced a break from playing to rehab her injured back.
Also Read: Nelly Korda’s Controversial Putt: What’s Going On with the Golf Prodigy?
8. Ruoning Yin
A twenty-year-old with five professional wins under her belt, Ruoning Yin is a Chinese golfer who bagged her women’s LPGA championship this year to take her place as the second major championship winner from China.
From Kunming, China, Yin kick-started her career by representing the Chinese Women’s National Team at the Asian Games at just the age of sixteen. Not long after, Ruoning Yin, at the age of 20, bagged her first major win as a professional at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship held in New Jersey.
9. Charley Hull
English Charley Hull has made quite a few of her career highlights in Texas, winning at the Ascendant LPGA Volunteers of America (Lone Star State). Currently, at the 17th position in the LPGA, Hull has had a massively successful career in both the LPGA Tour as well as the Ladies European Tour.
Starting her amateur career at the age of thirteen, she received many accolades in Great Britain and America, taking her position up to the top 10 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Since turning professional in 2013, Hull has been based at the Woburn Golf Club and is currently married to Ozzie Smith, a martial arts fighter.
10. Hyo Joon Jang
Hyo Joon Jang from the Republic of Korea is only a nineteen-year-old who ranked 11th in the Epson Tour Championship.
With a career earning of $74,000, Hyo Joon Jang is a passionate teen with a T-11 finish in the Q-series that enabled her to earn her LPGA card.
11. Jaravee Boonchant
Jaravee Boonchant from Bangkok turned professional in 2021 after winning her very first title at the BGC Thailand LPGA Masters. She earned her membership at the Epson Tour by completing 72 holes of the 2021 LPGA Q-school.
Although we will be seeing her compete in the 2023 LPGA Tour, Jaravee Boonchant finished 12th on the money list of the Epson Tour. She also played collegiate at Duke University, where she was a member of the 2019 National Championship team.
Also Read: Jessica Korda Net Worth: Earnings of the Golfer
12. Leona Maguire
Leona Maguire from Ireland earned her first LPGA title in 2022 after a successful season. The three-time Mark H. McCormack Medal winner, Maguire is a 28-year-old Irish Golfer who currently stands at number 10 in world rankings AND 21st in the LPGA.
Becoming the first Irish woman to win twice at the LPGA Tour in 2022, Leona Macguire started golfing at the age of nine, along with her twin, Lisa Macguire, another professional golfer who retired in 2019.
Also Read: Who Is Leona Maguire’s Partner? The 2022 LPGA Tour Winner’s Love Interest
13. Riley Rennell
With a solo second at the 2022 Epson Tour Championship, twenty-four years old Riley Rennel has managed to garner a total of $42,000 in career earnings through the tour.
Before turning pro in 2017, Rennell also won the Tennessee Women’s State Amateur in 2016 and secured a third at the 2014 Drive, Chip and Putt.
14. Roberta Liti
Twenty-seven-year-old Roberta Liti of Siena, Italy, played collegiate at Arizona State University, where she was a Pac-12 Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete honoree and later turned professional in 2018.
Liti earned her Epson Tour membership at the LPGA Qualifying Tournament after she made 72 holes in the second stage. She also has a tie for the fifth position at the Symetra Classic of 2020, which is her career best.
15. Su Oh
With a second at the Kingsmill Championship of 2016, Su Oh from Melbourne also represented Australia at the Rio Olympics the same year, finishing in the 13th position.
Also under her belt are two international wins, the 2015 Volvik Ladies Mashers, and the 2022 WPGA Championship. Before she turned professional in 2014, Oh won the Australian Girls’ Amateur in 2012.
16. Yu Sang Hou
Twenty-four-year-old Yu Sang Hou started her career playing collegiate at the University of Arizona, where she was a member of the Wildcats team that went on to win the 2018 NCAA Championship. Yu, along with her sister, Vivian, became a member of the LPGA, where they compete in the Q-series.
Coached by her father, who is a swing instructor himself, Yu Sang Hou became a member of the All Pac-12 Team and bagged a victory at the Hong Kong Ladies Amateur during her High School years.
17. Atthaya Thitikul
A Thai professional golfer who won her first LPGA Tour at the JTBC Classic, Atthaya Thitikul is the youngest golfer to win a professional tournament at the age of fourteen. Thitikul was ranked number one in the Women’s Amateur Golfers in the World for more than four months and eventually reached number one on the Women’s World Golf rankings in 2022 after turning professional.
She was named Rookie of the Year in 2022, losing the spot to Nelly Korda soon after.
Also Read: Nelly Korda Net Worth: How Much Does the Olympic Medalist Earn?
18. Ines Laklalech
Ines Laklalech from Casablanca in Morocco is a twenty-five-year-old professional golf player who began her career playing collegiate at Wake Forest University during the years 2015-16.
She won at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France in 2022, making her the first Moroccan to do so. She recently turned professional at 21 after successfully qualifying at Q-School.
19. Karis Davidson
Australian Karis Davidson was born in Melrose, Scotland, where she started her golf journey at the age of four. After representing Australia in the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada, she was also a semifinalist in the Australian Women’s Amateur and winner of the Riversdale Cup.
Davidson turned professional in 2017 and joined the LPGA Japan Tour. She also played at the ALPG Tourand bagged a solo second at the Women’s Victorian Open.
20. Louise Ridderstrom
Louise Ridderstrom, born in Stockholm, started playing golf at the young age of six and proceeded to join the University of California’s Bruins women’s golf team.
The daughter of a gymnast and a national hockey player, Ridderstrom was a part of the Swedish National Team, where she finished fourth and fifth at the European Girls’ Team Championship in the years 2010 and 2011, respectively.
In her professional career, which began in 2016, she joined the Symetra Tour for two consecutive years and won gained her first professional win at the Valley Forge Invitational.
21. Polly Mack
A former University of Nevada player, who managed to make eight out of eleven cuts on the Epson Tour along with two top-ten finishes, Polly Mack is a professional golfer as of 2022.
Hailing from Germany, she made a total of $44,000 in career earnings during the Epson Tour. In 2016, while still an amateur, Mack was the German National Champion and then proceeded to join the Epson Tour after graduating in 2022.
22. Weiwei Zhang
Born in Hubei, China, Weiwei Zhang began her amateur career in the China LPGA Tour in 2015. She gained a runner-up position in Zhuhai Classic during her rookie season.
Zhang became the first woman to have four consecutive wins in one season on the China LPGA after her win at the Trust Golf Thailand LPGA Masters. Recently, she joined the Epson Tour, where she finished with four top-10s, including a runner-up at the Prasco Charity Championship.
23. Xiyu Lin
Currently, at number 15th in the LPGA, the twenty-seven-year-old professional golfer from Guangzhou, China, is also sometimes known by her English name, Janet. With seven wins under her belt in the China LPGA after turning professional in 2011, Lin moved to the LPGA in 2014.
Holding the number nine position in the World Women’s Golf Ranking as of 2023, Xiyu Lin has been a part of the 2016 Summer Olympics, where she came out the 38th rank.
24. Aline Krauter
German Professional golfer Aline Krauter started her amateur career by winning the German Girls Open in 2016, followed by a third in the Portuguese Ladies Amateur two years later.
Before turning professional in 2022, Krauter represented Germany in the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada and played for the Stanford Cardinal women’s golf team.
25. Dottie Ardina
Twenty-nine-year-old Dottie Ardina became the youngest person at the age of 12 to compete in the World Amateur Team Championships, where she represented the Philippines in 2006.
As part of the Symetra Tour since 2014 as well as the LPGA Tour, Ardina qualified for the 2016 Olympics however was unable to compete due to the Zika Virus threat.
26. Jennifer Song
The fourth person in the World to win both and only the second to win both in the same year, Jennifer Song made her mark in Golf history by competing and winning in U. S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the U. S. Women’s Amateur.
This thirty-three-year-old from Michigan started her career playing for the Korean National Team and later for the University of South California. After her team’s victory in the 2010 Curtis Cup, she turned professional and began playing for the Duramed Futures Tour.
27. Karen Chung
Hailing from New Jersey, Karen Chung played for the University of Southern California before turning professional.
She earned her LPGA membership in 2023 after getting a T-28 finish in the LPGA Q-Series. Her amateur career includes a two-time inclusion in the U.S. Team at the Junior Solheim Cup.
28. Kiira Riihijarvi
Another 2022 Epson Tour graduate, Kiira Riihijarvi from Finland, won her way into the LPGA after winning the Ann Abor’s Road in the Epson Tour. Kiira Riihijarvi was born in France and made history as the first finish woman to play for the Augusta National Golf Club.
After turning professional, she played at the Ladies European Tour event and proceeded to finish 8th at the Gant Ladies Open.
29. Lauren Hartlage
From the town of Elizabeth in Kentucky, Lauren Hartlage is a former Louisville player who turned professional in 2021 and finished 143rd on the CME list.
The twenty-four-year-old made a whopping $71,944 in career earnings on the LPGA Tour and $4,000 on the Epson Tour.
30. Lucy Li
A 2022 LPGA Tour graduate from the US, Lucy Li came into the public eye during the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst.
At just twenty years old, she has already managed to secure a two-time winner at the Epson Tour and tied for the 16th position during the 2022 Open at Pine Needles.
31. Lydia Ko
Australian Lydia Ko underwent a massive stroke of winnings in 2022 with three back-to-back wins.
At just twenty-five years old is only two points away from getting into the LPGA Hall of Fame. She currently stands at Rolex Ranking of No. 1 and 10 Chevron starts.
Also Read: Who Is Lydia Ko’s Boyfriend? The Golfer Is About To Tie The Knot
32. Maddie Szeryk
A collegiate player at Texas A&M with an SEC record of 32 career top-ten tournament finishes, Maddie Szeryk of Canada earned her LPGA status back in 2022 after she finished T-35 at the Q-series.
She has a little over $47,000 in career earnings on the LPGA Tour and $80,000 in the Epson Tour after gaining her professional status in 2018.
33. Sei Young Kim
Thirty-year-old, Sei Young Kim is a South Korean professional golfer with a Rolex Ranking of 32 and 9 Chevron starts. Number 2 in 2020, Kim is also a 13-time LPGA winner.
A player on both the LPGA Korean Tour as well as the LPGA Tour, Kim went on to win the Women’s PGA Championship in 2020, where she was also named the LPGA Player of the Year.
34. Stephanie Meadow
Thirty-one-year-old Stephanie Meadow from Northern Ireland played for the University of Alabama before turning professional in 2014. After winning the Women’s Amateur Championship in 2012, Meadow secured third place in the 2014 U. S. Women’s Open.
She previously represented Ireland at the Olympics in 2016 and even went on to finish 7th at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Meadow, now married to her long-time boyfriend, Kyle Kallan, recently won a joint third at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which bagged her the biggest prize check of her career yet.
35. Bailey Tardy
Atlanta, Georgia’s Bailey Tardy made the cut in 12 out of 21 stars of the Epson Tour and also bagged one career victory at the 2021 Copper Rock Championship.
Before the 26-year-old turned professional in 2018, Tardy played collegiate at the University of Georgia and was named 2016 SEC Freshman of the Year.
36. Samantha Wagner
Twenty-six-year-old Samantha Wagner from the University of Florida turned professional recently in the year 2017.
She also stood tied at the 2021 Copper Rock Championship at the Epson Tour. Originally from Windermere, Florida, Wagner made $167,000 in career earnings while on the tour.
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