LPGA Player of the Year race tightens with only four events left in 2022, and a rookie might steal the show

With four events left in the season, the Rolex LPGA Player of the Year race could once again turn into a doozie.

As it stands, the Rolex Annika Major Award winner Minjee Lee holds a 19-point lead over Brooke Henderson. Unlike the PGA Tour, the LPGA’s POY is based on a points system, with no player votes. A victory is worth 30 points and a second place is worth 12. A 10th-place finish is worth one point.

Points were doubled at the majors, which explains why four of the top six players in the standings are 2022 majors winners.

Jennifer Kupcho has won three times this season, but her victory with Lizette Salas at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational wasn’t eligible for POY points. She’s sixth on the list and trails Lee by 54 points.

Last season, Jin Young Ko had to win the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship to overtake Nelly Korda in the points race, and she did just that, earning an LPGA Hall of Fame point in the process. Ko won three of her last four starts to make a dramatic late-season push.

This year, both Ko and Korda have battled health issues and are T-10 and 43rd, respectively, in the POY standings.

Here’s a closer look at the top four in the running as the race winds down:

1

Minjee Lee

SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA – JUNE 05: Minjee Lee of Australia poses with the trophy after winning the 77th U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club on June 05, 2022 in Southern Pines, North Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Minjee Lee has missed the cut in her last two starts on the LPGA, but her performances in the majors have her still in control. The 2022 U.S. Women’s Open winner took a share of second at the KPMG Women’s PGA and tied for fourth at the AIG Women’s British Open. She also won the Cognizant Founders Cup.

Lee, who will play next week at the BMW Ladies Championship, has never won the LPGA Player of the Year award.

 

2

Brooke Henderson

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE – JULY 24: Brooke M. Henderson of Canada poses trophy after winning the The Amundi Evian Championship during day four of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 24, 2022 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Brooke Henderson nabbed her second major title this season at the Amundi Evian Championship on the heels of victory at the ShopRite LPGA. Like Lee, Henderson has never won Player of the Year honors. She is not listed in the field next week in South Korea, nor in Japan.

3

Atthaya Thitikul

Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand pretends to take a selfie while holding the winner’s trophy after winning the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G at Pinnacle Country Club on September 25, 2022 in Rogers, Arkansas. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Atthaya Thitikul, currently No. 2 in the world, hasn’t finished outside the top 10 in her last four starts, which includes her second victory of the season in Arkansas. The 19-year-old Thai prodigy, who leads the tour in birdies, heads into the last swing of the season looking to nab both the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award (which she currently leads) and the POY trophy, a rare feat, indeed.

Thitikul, who trails Lee by 25 points, is scheduled to compete in both Asian events.

 

4

Lydia Ko

Lydia Ko kisses the trophy after winning the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Golf Club on January 30, 2022 in Boca Raton, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

Lydia Ko won in her second start of the season and while she hasn’t lift another trophy in 2022 on the LPGA, she has been racking up top-5 finishes. Ko has 10 top-5 finishes thus far, including her victory at the Gainbridge LPGA. Such consistent play has her leading the tour in scoring with a 69.18 average.

The former No. 1 won the Vare Trophy for low scoring last season. She was the 2015 LPGA Player of the Year.

Ko, who will play next week in South Korea but not Japan, trails Lee by 29 points.