Best female golfers of all time

Women’s golf is one of the fastest growing sports in the world today, with increased exposure and prize money closing the gap to the men’s game by the week. The founding of the Ladies Professional Golf Assocation (LPGA) in 1950 paved the way for thousands of promising amateur players to turn professional, and break new records in the process.

The history of the game is full of iconic figures who have played a vital part in this movement, but who are the greatest players of all? Featuring some familiar faces and legends of the game from a bygone era, here are ten of the best female golfers of all time:

1. Annika Sörenstam: hailing from Sweden, Annika Sörenstam is widely considered one of the greatest female golfers of all time, and was the first European to dominate the female game in the 90’s and early 2000s. She won 72 times on the LPGA Tour, 10 of which were major championships, and achieved numerous accolades during her career. In 2003 she became the first player since Babe Zaharias to play in a men’s PGA Tour event, and she is also the only female player to shoot 59.
2. Kathy Whitworth: Kathy Whitworth is the LPGA Tour’s all-time leader in career wins, with an incredible 88 victories. She won six major championships and dominated the tour during the 1960s and 1970s, before and becoming the first American captain for the inaugural Solheim Cup in 1990.
3. Mickey Wright: Mickey Wright is known for her incredibly smooth swing and her 13 major championship victories – out of 90 victories overall. She was a dominant force in women’s golf during the 1950s and 1960s, leading golfing legend Ben Hogan to say that Wright’s swing was the best he had ever seen.
4. Babe Zaharias: Babe Zaharias was a versatile athlete who excelled in golf, track and field, and basketball. She turned to golf in the 1930’s and quickly found success, winning 10 major championships and making a significant impact on women’s sports over the course of the mid-20th century.
5. Nancy Lopez: Nancy Lopez was a fan favorite and a dominant force on the LPGA Tour during the 1970s and 1980s, during which time she was widely recognised as the best player in the world. She won three major championships and numerous other events.
6. Karrie Webb: The Australian golfer Karrie Webb has won multiple major championships and was a consistent top performer on the LPGA Tour. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, and has career 41 wins on the LPGA Tour, more than any other active player and joint 10^th most in the historical rankings.
7. Patty Berg: One of the pioneers of women’s professional golf and a founder of the LPGA, Patty Berg is widely credited with revolutionising the sport for women during the 40’s and 50’s. She won 15 major championships, more than any other female athlete, and left a lasting legacy in the sport.
8. Louise Suggs: Another co-founder of the Ladies PGA Tour following an impressive amateur career, Suggs was a formidable player with 11 major championships to her name. A model of consistency, she only finished outside of the top three in the season-ending money list once during the entire 1950’s, while acting as LPGA President between 1955-57.
9. Juli Inkster: Juli Inkster has won multiple major championships and has had a long and successful career on the LPGA Tour, with 31 career wins. She is known for her consistency and versatility, both as an individual player and as part of the US Solheim Cup team member and captain – winning twice in 2017 and 2019.
10. Inbee Park: born in Seoul, Park has won numerous major championships and is consistently ranked among the top players in the world during the early 21st century. She was officially inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame in 2016, as the youngest player to ever qualify for the honour, and was named the GWAA Female Player of the Year in 2013.
11. The above list names just a few of the most accomplished female golfers in the history of the sport, each of whom have made significant contributions to the sport and left a lasting legacy.
12. Female golf has come on in leaps and bounds since the LPGA made it a professional sport in the 1950’s. And with sports crowdfunding growing in stature, and allowing fans to take part directly in the career development of their favourite athletes, who knows: the next Annika Sörenstam or Kathy Whitworth may already be out there!