2025 was a banner year for rookies on the LPGA Tour with a record-setting seven first-year players winning on the Tour. Here are Fore-All’s picks for the best of the year:
No. 5 – Chizzy Iwai – The first of the Iwai twins on this list, Chizzy was a solid force throughout the year. While she didn’t get as many top-10 finishes as her sister, she still had five including a win at the Mexico Riviera Maya Open, which she won in dominant fashion. That win does have a small aside next to it though, as it was probably the weakest field of the season. Regardless, Chizzy was a bit more consistent, making six cuts and finishing regularly in the top 40.
No. 5 – Akie Iwai – It is a bit strange how similar the Iwai twins played this season. It took a bit for Iwai to get her first win, taking it home in Portland in an impressively dominant performance. Iwai wasn’t the most consistent player on Tour, she missed seven cuts and had some tough weekend scores, but when she was on she was fantastic, finishing top 10 seven times and finishing No. 13 in the CME Standings. Plus, she had that incredible near win in Thailand thanks to a final round 61.
No. 3 – Rio Takeda – For a lot of the season, Japanese sensation Rio Takeda looked like she would run away with the award. She finished top 10 eight times and got a win early on at the Blue Bay LPGA. She also performed well in the majors, grabbing top-five finishes at both the U.S. Women’s Open and the AIG Women’s Open. Her fall wasn’t quite as dominant as the early season, but Takeda is an incredible raw talent that should only get better with more experience.
No. 2 – Lottie Woad – Woad really only played a third of the tournaments as the others on this list, but her numbers speak for themselves. 13 starts, 11 made cuts, four top-10 finishes including a win in her debut as an LPGA Tour member. Woad also finished top-five in 2/4 majors she played and finished in the top three in roughly 1/4 of her starts. It is a smaller sample size, but there’s nothing anyone could take away from Woad’s first season on Tour. Oh yeah, she also won as an amateur on the Ladies European Tour.
No. 1 – Miyu Yamashita – This is fairly straight forward and easy, Miyu Yamashita is the obvious Rookie of the Year in 2025. Yamashita was nearly Player of the Year, making 23 cuts in 25 starts with 12 top-10 finishes and two wins. She also won a major title at the AIG Women’s Open. All this despite being one of the shortest hitters on Tour, she proved herself to be as precise as anyone, regardless of experience. Yamashita should be viewed as a potential superstar moving forward.
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