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golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
has a set of major championships, a series of tournaments designated to be of a higher status than other tournaments. Five tournaments are currently designated as 'majors' in women's golf by the
LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...
. The
LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...
's list of majors has changed in constitution since the first major was held at the
Women's Western Open The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
in 1930. There have been four different periods, 1930 to 1972, 1973 to 2000, 2001 to 2013, and the current version which began in 2014. The current version of tournaments is the Chevron Championship,
The Evian Championship The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...
, U.S. Women's Open,
Women's PGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...
, The Women's Open.


LPGA majors

* In 2001, the du Maurier Classic, held in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, lost its primary sponsorship after that country passed severe restrictions on
tobacco advertising Nicotine marketing is the marketing of nicotine-containing products or use. Traditionally, the tobacco industry markets cigarette smoking, but it is increasingly marketing other products, such as electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco pr ...
. The tournament, now known as the Canadian Women's Open, is still a regular event on the LPGA Tour, but no longer designated as a major. The LPGA elevated the Women's British Open to major status to replace the du Maurier Classic. * In 2013,
The Evian Championship The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...
, held in
Évian-les-Bains Évian-les-Bains (), or simply Évian (, , or ), is a Communes of France, commune in Eastern France, by the border with Switzerland. It is located in the northern part of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. A high-m ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, became the fifth LPGA major. Known before 2013 as the Evian Masters, it is one of two events recognized as majors by the LPGA's European counterpart, the Ladies European Tour (LET). The elevation of this event to LPGA major status and the name change were announced by the LPGA on July 20, 2011. As of 2023, the order in which women's majors are played is: * Chevron Championship *
Women's PGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...
* U.S. Women's Open *
The Evian Championship The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...
* The Women's Open Before The Evian Championship became the fifth LPGA major, the setup of women's majors closely paralleled that of the men's majors. In both cases, the United States hosted three majors and the United Kingdom one. The Evian Championship is held in France. The U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship match their male equivalents. The Chevron Championship is the first major of the season and through 2022 was held at a single host course (the Mission Hills Country Club), similarly to the
Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...
, in 2023 it was held at The Club at Carlton Woods Unlike the mainstream men's equivalents, all but one of the women's majors have title sponsors. Each of the five majors falls under a different jurisdiction. The LPGA organizes The Chevron Championship. Through 2014, it also organized the LPGA Championship, but since 2015 that tournament has been taken over by the PGA of America, the body that organizes the men's PGA Championship, and has been renamed the Women's PGA Championship. The U.S. Women's Open, is operated by the
United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...
. The Women's Open is operated by
The R&A The R&A (or more formally, the R&A Trust Company (No. 1) Limited) is the collective name of a group of companies that together play a significant role within the game of golf. Historically, "the R&A" was a colloquial name for the Royal and A ...
since a 2016 merger with the Ladies Golf Union. The Evian Championship is operated by the Ladies European Tour. From 2006 through 2008, the winners of the four women's majors received automatic entry to the LPGA's season championship, the LPGA Tour Championship. Beginning in 2009, the Tour Championship extended entry to all players in the top 120 on the official LPGA Money List. Starting in 2011, the Tour Championship was replaced by the CME Group Titleholders; from that point through 2013, the top three finishers at all official tour events, including the majors, who had not already qualified for the Titleholders earned entries. Starting in 2014, the LPGA adopted a points race similar in some ways to the PGA Tour's
FedEx Cup The FedEx Cup is the championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction in 2007 marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Since its inception, the competition has been sponsored by FedEx. In 2022, the PGA Tour ...
. In the new system, officially called the "Race to the CME Globe", the top 72 points earners during the season, plus all tournament winners, qualify for the renamed final event, the CME Group Tour Championship, in which the top nine points earners will have at least a mathematical chance of winning the season title.


History

Eight different events are classified as having been LPGA majors at some time. The number in each season has fluctuated between two and five. The first tournament which is now included in the LPGA's official list of major victories is the 1930
Women's Western Open The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
, although this is a retrospective designation as the LPGA was not founded until 1950.·The Titleholders was played from 1937 to 1966 with a gap due to World War II. In 1967 there were three majors, then from 1968 to 1971 this decreased and went back to two majors. Then in 1979, the du Maurier Classic was first played and immediately considered a major leading to three majors again from 1979 to 1982. In 1983, when Nabisco Dinah Shore gained major championship status, there were four majors. *
Women's Western Open The Women's Western Open was an American professional golf tournament founded in 1930. The LPGA was established in 1950, and it recognized the Western Open as one of its major championships through 1967. All of the events back to 1930 have been d ...
: 1930–1967 * Titleholders Championship: 1937–1942, 1946–1966, 1972 * U.S. Women's Open: 1946–present *
Women's PGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...
: 1955–present (LPGA Championship, 1955–2014) * du Maurier Classic: 1979–2000 (Peter Jackson Classic, 1979–1983) * Chevron Championship: 1983–present (Nabisco
Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, television personality, and the chart-topping female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during the ...
, 1983–1999; Nabisco Championship, 2000–2001; Kraft Nabisco Championship, 2002–2014; ANA Inspiration, 2015–2021) * The Women's Open: 2001–present (Women's British Open, 2001-2019) *
The Evian Championship The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...
: 2013–present


LPGA major winners


Major championships by golfer


The "Grand Slam"

No woman has completed a four-major Grand Slam, much less one with five majors.
Babe Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball, and track and field. She won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the ...
won all three majors contested in
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and Sandra Haynie won both majors in 1974. During the four-major era, six women have completed a "Career Grand Slam" by winning four different majors . There are variations in the set of four tournaments involved as the players played in different eras. The six are: Pat Bradley; Juli Inkster;
Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international p ...
; Louise Suggs;
Karrie Webb Karrie Anne Webb (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian professional golfer. She plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and also turns out once or twice a year on the ALPG Tour in her home country. She is a member of the World Golf Hall ...
; and Mickey Wright. During the five-major era, Inbee Park became the first woman to complete the "Career Grand Slam." Even though there has been some debate surrounding whether Park has actually accomplished this feat, as she won
The Evian Championship The Evian Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as The Amundi Evian Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in France, played at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains. It was originally held in June, mov ...
in 2012 before it officially became a major in 2013,
LPGA The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly ...
acknowledged Park to have successfully achieved a "Career Grand Slam." The LPGA recognizes Webb as its only "Super Career Grand Slam" winner, since she is the only golfer to have won five events recognized by the LPGA as majors. Before the elevation of The Evian Championship to major status, the following was required for a golfer to win the Super Career Grand Slam: * The du Maurier Classic between 1979 and 2000, when it was recognized by the LPGA as a major; * the Women's British Open in 2001 or later; and * the other three then-existing majors. Webb won the du Maurier Classic in 1999 and the Women's British Open in 2002.


Major champions by nationality

The table below shows the number of major championships won by golfers from various countries/regions.


Consecutive victories at a major championship


Multiple major victories in a calendar year


Three victories

*1950:
Babe Zaharias Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias (; Didrikson; June 26, 1911 – September 27, 1956) was an American athlete who excelled in golf, basketball, baseball, and track and field. She won two gold medals and a silver in track and field at the ...
; Women's Western Open, U.S. Women's Open, and Titleholders Championship *1961: Mickey Wright; LPGA Championship, U.S. Women's Open, and Titleholders Championship *1986: Pat Bradley; Kraft Nabisco Championship, LPGA Championship, du Maurier Classic *2013: Inbee Park; Kraft Nabisco Championship, LPGA Championship, U.S. Women's Open Note: These golfers are also included below in the ''Two victories'' section.


Two victories


ANA Inspiration and LPGA Championship

*1986: Pat Bradley *2005:
Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international p ...
*2013: Inbee Park


ANA Inspiration and The Evian Championship

*2019: Ko Jin-young


ANA Inspiration and U.S. Women's Open

*1990: Betsy King *2000:
Karrie Webb Karrie Anne Webb (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian professional golfer. She plays mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and also turns out once or twice a year on the ALPG Tour in her home country. She is a member of the World Golf Hall ...
*2013: Inbee Park


ANA Inspiration and Women's British Open

* 2010: Yani Tseng * 2023:
Lilia Vu Lilia Kha-Tu Du Vu (born October 14, 1997) is an American professional golfer and LPGA Tour player. In 2023, she rose to number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings and became LPGA Tour Player of the Year after winning four titles, including t ...


LPGA Championship and U.S. Women's Open

*1958: Mickey Wright *1961: Mickey Wright (2) *1974: Sandra Haynie *1991: Meg Mallon *1998: Se Ri Pak *1999: Juli Inkster *2001: Karrie Webb *2013: Inbee Park


LPGA Championship and Women's British Open

*2003: Annika Sörenstam *2011: Yani Tseng *2015: Inbee Park


U.S. Women's Open and Women's British Open

*Never has occurred


ANA Inspiration and du Maurier Classic

*1984: Juli Inkster *1986: Pat Bradley


LPGA Championship and du Maurier Classic

*1986: Pat Bradley *1996: Laura Davies


U.S. Women's Open and du Maurier Classic

*Never occurred


Women's Western Open and LPGA Championship

*1959: Betsy Rawls *1963: Mickey Wright *1967: Kathy Whitworth


Women's Western Open and U.S. Women's Open

*1949: Louise Suggs *1950: Babe Zaharias


Women's Western Open and Titleholders Championship

*1946: Louise Suggs *1948: Patty Berg *1950: Babe Zaharias *1955: Patty Berg *1957: Patty Berg *1962: Mickey Wright


LPGA Championship and Titleholders Championship

*1961: Mickey Wright


U.S. Women's Open and Titleholders Championship

*1950: Babe Zaharias *1961: Mickey Wright


Record scores

The lowest score in relation to par recorded in a women's major championship was 21-under-par, by Chun In-gee at the 2016 Evian Championship. Chun also holds the record for lowest aggregate score for 72-holes, at 263, for her performance at that tournament. The single round scoring record is 61 held by three golfers, Kim Hyo-joo at the 2014 Evian Championship, Lee Jeong-eun and Leona Maguire, both at 2021 Evian Championship. A score of 62 has been shot by Minea Blomqvist at the 2004 Women's British Open (third round),
Lorena Ochoa Lorena Ochoa Reyes (; born 15 November 1981) is a Mexican former professional golfer who played on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour from 2003 LPGA Tour, 2003 to 2010 LPGA Tour, 2010. She was the Women's World Golf Rankings#World number ones, top-ranked ...
at the 2006 Kraft Nabisco Championship (first round), and Mirim Lee at the 2016 Women's British Open (first round).


Rolex Annika Major Award

In 2014, the LPGA established the yearly Rolex Annika Major Award to recognize the overall best performance in the LPGA majors. Points are awarded for top-10 finishes in each major: 60 points for first place, 24 for second, down to 2 points for tenth place. The major winner with the most points at the end of the season wins the award. It is named after
Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 96 international p ...
.


Other regular tours

In men's (non-senior) golf, the four majors are agreed globally. All the principal tours acknowledge the status of the majors via their sponsorship of the
Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...
, and the prize money is official on the three richest regular tours (the PGA, European, and Japanese tours). This is not the case in women's golf, but the significance of this is limited, as the LPGA Tour is much more dominant in women's golf than the PGA Tour is in men's golf. For example, the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
has been known to use the LPGA definition of women's majors without qualifying it. Also, before the Evian Masters was elevated to major status, the
Ladies' Golf Union The Ladies' Golf Union (LGU) was the governing body for women's and girls' amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland. It was founded in 1893 and was based in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland until merging with The R&A at the start of 2017. Issette ...
, the governing body for women's golf in the UK and
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
and the organiser of the Women's British Open, stated on its official site that the Women's British Open is "the only Women's Major to be played outside the U.S." The Ladies European Tour does not sanction any of the LPGA majors which are played in the United States, and only has two events which it designates as majors on its schedule, namely the Women's British Open and The Evian Championship (historically the Evian Masters), which is played in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The Ladies European Tour had long tacitly acknowledged the dominance of the LPGA Tour by not scheduling any of its events to conflict with any of the LPGA majors played in the U.S., but that changed slightly in 2008 when the LET scheduled a tournament opposite the LPGA Championship. Also, while the LPGA Tour did not recognize the then-Evian Masters as a major until 2013, it began co-sanctioning the tournament as a regular tour event in 2000. Because it was played the week before the Women's British Open (except in 2012, when the latter event was moved to September to avoid conflict with the London Olympics), and the purse was (and remains) one of the largest on the LPGA Tour, virtually all top LPGA players played the Evian Masters before its elevation to major status. The Evian Championship has now moved to September. (During the 2006–08 period, its winner also received an automatic berth in the LPGA Tour Championship.) The
LPGA of Japan Tour The LPGA of Japan Tour is a professional golf tour for women organised by the Japan Ladies Professional Golfers' Association. The tour was founded in 1968. It is the second richest women's golf tour in the world. The U.S.-based LPGA Tour is the mo ...
, which is the second richest women's golf tour, has its own set of four majors: the World Ladies, the Japan Open, the JLPGA Championship and the JLPGA Tour Championship. However, these events attract little notice outside Japan, and to a lesser degree South Korea (since a number of Koreans now play on the Japan tour).


Symetra Tour

Since 2006, the Symetra Tour, the LPGA's developmental tour known through 2011 as the Futures Tour, has designated the Tate & Lyle Players Championship, an event which has been held since 1985, as a major championship. It was the Tour's first $100,000 purse.


Women's senior golf

The Legends of the LPGA Tour, originally the Women's Senior Golf Tour, played its first season in 2001. The U.S. Senior Women's Open and the Senior LPGA Championship are considered to constitute the senior women's major golf championships. The U.S. Senior Women's Open was established in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
and is open to women whose 50th birthday falls on or before the first day of competition. The eligibility for the Senior LPGA Championship, established in 2017, and the Legends of the LPGA Tour are for female golfers age 45 and older.


See also

* Chronological list of LPGA major golf champions


Notes and references

{{Women's Major Champions
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
no:Major-turnering