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Bailey Tardy received her first LPGA title on Sunday on the Blue Bay LPGA in China, bucking the 2024 pattern of winners which have all been main champions. The who’s who listing of champions — Lydia Ko, Nelly Korda, Patty Tavatanakit and Hannah Inexperienced — thus far this season stands in stark distinction to what the tour noticed in 2023.
Final yr, a file 12 gamers had been Rolex First-Time winners, up from a record-tying 11 in 2022 (first set in 1995). Really, 13 gamers received for the primary time final yr, however as a result of Mone Inami didn’t develop into an official member in 2023, deferring to 2024, she’s not acknowledged as a Rolex First-Time winner.
After Tardy’s victory in China, she moved up 85 spots within the Rolex Rankings to No. 84. Who is likely to be the following first-time winner? Listed below are 10 gamers ready for that breakout second (with Rolex Rating):
Xiyu Janet Lin tees off on the ninth gap throughout the first spherical of the 2023 U.S. Ladies’s Open at Pebble Seashore Golf Hyperlinks in Pebble Seashore, Calif. on Thursday, July 6, 2023. (Darren Carroll/USGA)
Whereas China’s Lin just lately received on the Girls European Tour in Hong Kong — her third title on that tour — she has but to interrupt by way of on the LPGA. Lin has amassed 5 runner-up finishes over the previous two seasons. She tied for third on the 2023 KPMG Ladies’s PGA.
NAPLES, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 19: Alison Lee of the USA performs her shot from the eleventh tee throughout the closing spherical of the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Membership on November 19, 2023 in Naples, Florida. (Picture by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Pictures)
Lee completed final season with runner-up showings in her final three LPGA begins. In the midst of it that run, she additionally received on the LET. Lee’s 2024 season, nonetheless, received off to a gradual begin after she suffered from canine chunk that left her hospitalized. Lee tied for 51st in her first begin to the season on the HSBC.
Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea performs her shot from the twelfth tee throughout the third spherical of The Chevron Championship at The Membership at Carlton Woods on April 22, 2023 in The Woodlands, Texas. (Picture by Carmen Mandato/Getty Pictures)
After a runner-up displaying as an novice on the 2017 U.S. Ladies’s Open, it appeared that an LPGA victory can be across the nook for the younger South Korean. Choi has since notched two extra second-place finishes on the LPGA and a 3rd on the 2022 USWO however has but to see the winner’s circle.
GYEONGGI-DO, SOUTH KOREA – OCTOBER 19: Aditi Ashok of India performs her shot from the third tee throughout the first spherical of the BMW Girls Championship on the Seowon Hills course at Seowon Valley Nation Membership on October 19, 2023 in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. (Picture by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Pictures)
A five-time winner on the LET, Ashok’s closest name on the LPGA got here final yr on the JM Eagle LA Championship when she misplaced in a playoff to Hannah Inexperienced. Ashok additionally contended for a medal on the 2020 Olympic Video games in Japan, in the end ending fourth.
No Indian girl has ever received on the LPGA.
Jul 7, 2023; Pebble Seashore, California, USA; Mao Saigo tees off on the ninth gap throughout the second spherical of the U.S. Ladies’s Open golf match at Pebble Seashore Golf Hyperlinks. Necessary Credit score: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports activities
A six-time winner on the JLPGA the previous two seasons, Saigo is now a rookie on the LPGA. She completed runner-up on the JLPGA earlier this yr and tied for twelfth final week on the Blue Bay LPGA.
Gabriela Ruffels of Australia appears on from the seventh tee throughout the third spherical of the 2023 CPKC Ladies’s Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Nation Membership in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Picture: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Pictures)
Ruffels received 3 times on the Epson Tour final season to earn her LPGA card for 2024. She already has three top-20 finishes within the majors. Ruffels tied for fifteenth on the Blue Bay final week in her second begin to the season.
Lucy Li of the USA performs her shot from the third tee throughout the third spherical of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton Nation Membership on January 27, 2024 in Bradenton, Florida. (Picture by Julio Aguilar/Getty Pictures)
The previous phenom received off to a powerful begin in 2024 with a career-tying greatest end of a share of fourth on the LPGA Drive On and a tie for tenth on the Blue Bay LPGA. Li received twice on the Epson Tour in 2022 to earn her LPGA card.
HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA – MARCH 10: Sarah Schmelzel of the USA hits a tee shot on 1st gap throughout the closing spherical of the Blue Bay LPGA at Jian Lake Blue Bay Golf Course on March 10, 2024 in Hainan Island, Hainan. (Picture by Zhizhao Wu/Getty Pictures)
Schemelzel’s sizzling begin to 2024 features a career-best runner-up displaying final week on the Blue Bay LPGA and share of eighth on the HSBC. At the moment 73rd within the Rolex Rankings, she’s up from 108th final month.
Albane Valenzuela strains up a putt throughout the closing spherical of the 2024 Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Nation Membership in Thailand. (Picture: Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Pictures)
Former Stanford standout put up a career-best second-place displaying on the Honda LPGA Thailand final month after an epic placing efficiency. She tied for fifteenth on the Blue Bay.
Valenzuela’s greatest main efficiency got here final yr on the Chevron when she tied for fourth.
Alexandra Forsterling (courtesy Aramco Staff Collection)
The previous Arizona State participant received her third LET title since turning skilled final week on the Aramco Staff Collection occasion in Tampa, Florida. Forsterling earned her LPGA card by way of Q-Collection final yr and can make her first begin as a tour rookie at subsequent week’s Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship.
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