Now we continue with our previous post of the women’s golf stars who defined the year of 2025, moving on to part two, where we will look at Nos. 11 – 15.
No. 15 – Yealimi Noh – The second half of Yealimi Noh’s season wasn’t quite as strong as the first, regardless we finally saw where that immense talent could take her. She won her first tournament of the year at the Founders Cup, and followed that up with four consecutive top-20 finishes. While June and August were rough months, she recovered well with a top-five finish at the BMW Ladies Championship and a good performance in the International Crown, stepping in last minute for Nelly Korda. She seems to be in solid shape to make her second Solheim Cup team now in 2026.
No. 14 – Hyo Joo Kim – Really nice bounceback season for Hyo Joo Kim, considered to be one of the best and most consistent players on the LPGA Tour, she looked like her former self again in 2025. Kim had one win with seven top-10 finishes and ended up at No. 7 in the CME Standings. She also had three runner-up finishes including at The Chevron Championship. The consistency was back, particularly with her short game, which was among the best on the Tour.
No. 13 – Somi Lee – If there was an unexpected breakout in 2025, it was from Somi Lee. The 26-year-old from Korea dominated the early Summer, posting top-15 finishes in 7/8 events, including in two majors. This was so unexpected, partially because she didn’t even qualify for the field at the U.S. Women’s Open. She finished the year overall with eight top-10 finishes and a win alongside Jin Hee Im at the Dow Championship. She is a really well-rounded player as well who should be a fixture on leaderboards moving forward.
Nos. 12 and 11 (Tie) – Akie and Chizzy Iwai – I can safely say that no two players have made the most of their experience on the LPGA Tour more than the Iwai twins. They are dynamic personalities off the court who might be the most essential follow on social media in the world of professional golf. The good thing is, they have the games to back it all up. Paired together here because they had wildly similar rookie seasons. They both got one win, Chizzy had five top-10 finishes, Akie had seven. Chizzy finished No. 15 in the CME Standings, Akie finished No. 13. In a year dominated by young Japanese players, these two were major contributors to that success.
