The biggest current trend on social media is throwing it back to 2016, which is now 10 years ago. So what was it like on the LPGA Tour and in the world of women’s golf in 2016?
MAJOR CHAMPIONS
- ANA Inspiration (Chevron Championship): Lydia Ko
- KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Brooke Henderson
- U.S. Women’s Open: Brittany Lang
- Women’s British Open: Ariya Jutanugarn
- The Evian Championship: In Gee Chun
What a group of major champions, arguably the strongest we’ve seen in the last decade. 10 years later Ko, Henderson, Jutanugarn and Chun are still playing on the tour, and each of those four has multiple major championships.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
- In Gee Chun
- Megan Khang
- Gaby López
- Su Oh
- Annie Park
A strong group here, as Chun, Khang and López all have multiple wins and are still competitive on Tour. Digging deeper down the list, the recently retired Ally Ewing finished 14 for the award.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- Ariya Jutanugarn
- Lydia Ko
- Brooke Henderson
- In Gee Chun
- Ha Na Jang
To little surprise, four of the major champions were also the top four for Player of the Year. Jutanugarn really dominated the season, winning five times and nearly winning the ANA Inspiration before a back nine collapse. Ko came off her first Player of the Year award with a campaign that would’ve been a worthy winner almost any other year, with four wins. For Henderson, it was really the professional breakout for the then 18-year-old.
OLYMPICS
Gold: Inbee Park – South Korea
Silver: Lydia Ko – New Zealand
Bronze: Shanshan Feng – China
Golf made its return to the Olympics in 2016 and had a legendary medal stand. Inbee Park, the greatest player of the 21st century, won the gold medal while her fellow LPGA Hall of Famer Lydia Ko won the first of her three Olympic medals. Shanshan Feng, who was one of the most popular players in the world at the time, a 10-time LPGA Tour winner, won bronze.
PLAYERS WHO EARNED THEIR CARDS
10 players earned their cards for the LPGA Tour in 2016 on what is now the Epson Tour, and it is one of the strongest groups in history.
Madelene Sagström
Ally McDonald (Ewing)
Jackie Stoelting
Wichanee Meechai
Laura Gonzalez Escallon
Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong
Dana Finkelstein (Fall)
Marissa Steen
Nelly Korda
Peiyun Chien
NCAA
Washington defeated Stanford in a major upset. Players who finished in the top 10 of the individual competition include Dewi Weber, Cheyenne Knight, Lilia Vu, Jennifer Kupcho and Bronte Law.
U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR
Eun Jeong Seong defeated Elena Carta in the finals. Carta won in the semis against two-time major winner Yuka Saso.
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