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The LPGA Rolex Player of the Year award is one of three major awards presented at the end of each season. Receiving it is considered one of the highest honors, so much so that winning it at least once is a prerequisite to being inducted into the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame.
This award is given through a system of points that players accumulate during their participation in tournaments during the LPGA Tour season. Points are awarded to the Top 10 of each tournament, with the following distribution:
- 30 points for first
- 12 points for second
- 9 points for third
- 7 points for fourth
- 6 points for fifth
- 5 points for sixth
- 4 points for seventh
- 3 points for eighth
- 2 points for ninth
- 1 point for 10th
The number of points is multiplied by two for results in each of the five Majors.
LPGA Rolex Player of the Year: Winners of the last 5 seasons
This award was first presented in 1966 and has since been received by stars such as Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam and Lorena Ochoa.
The LPGA Rolex Player of the Year winners of the past five seasons fit the traditional profile of those who have received the honor. They are exceptional performers, including a future LPGA Hall of Famer.
2023: Lilia Vu
The 2023 season was incredibly successful for Lilia Vu. Her LPGA Tour results for the season include 19 tournaments played, 16 cuts made, four victories and three other Top 10s.
But undoubtedly the pinnacle of her season was her two wins in the Majors, The Chevron Championship and the AIG Women's Open. These results took Lilia Vu to number one in the world rankings and also gave her the Player of the Year award.
2022: Lydia Ko
Lydia Ko’s 2022 season is one of those that has her on the home stretch on her way to the LPGA Hall of Fame. The Kiwi played 22 tournaments without suffering even a cut, won three tournaments (including the Tour Championship) and finished in 11 other Top 10s.
Lydya Ko's performance was so spectacular that she not only won the Rolex Player of the Year award for the second time in her career (she had won it in 2015). She also won another of the fundamental awards of each season, the Vare Trophy, which is given to the leader in scoring average on the circuit.
2021: Jin-young Ko
Jin-young Ko is one of the South Korean stars whose breakthrough season came in 2021, when she won the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year award for the second time.
That year, Ko won no less than five tournaments, including the Tour Championship. In addition, she suffered no cuts in 13 tournaments played and topped the tour's money list.
2020: Sei-young Kim
Sei-young Kim played only nine LPGA Tour tournaments in 2020, but it was enough for her to win two events, including her first Major (and only one so far).
The Korean finished in four other top 10s. In fact, she performed at such a high level that she could have won the Vare Trophy, but didn't play enough rounds to qualify.
2019: Jin-young Ko
This was the season that launched Jin-young Ko (currently ranked No. 6 in the world) to stardom. In 2019, Ko won four tournaments, including two Majors, and finished in eight other top 10s. In other words, she finished in the top 10 in more than half of the 22 tournaments she played in.
To round off a spectacular season, in addition to the Rolex player of the Year award, she won the Vare Trophy and topped the tour's money list.
