Five players in this year’s rookie class are currently ranked in the top 50 in the world. The battle for the 2025 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year Award should be a slugfest.
Four Japanese players – including a set of twins! – make up the fivesome along with South Korea’s Ina Yoon. There are 21 players in this year’s rookie class, representing 21 countries.
Miyu Yamashita, now No. 13, is the highest-ranked player followed by compatriot Rio Takeda at No. 17 and 29th-ranked Yoon. The Iwai sisters, Akie and Chisato, are ranked 30th and 48th, respectively.
Yamashita, 23, is a 13-time winner on the JLPGA and was medalist at LPGA Q-Series last month. She has four top-10 finishes in nine LPGA major championship starts, including a share of second at the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA.
Takeda earned membership by winning her eighth title of the season on the JLPGA at the co-sanctioned Toto LPGA Classic. The 21-year-old defeated the now-retired Marina Alex in a six-hole playoff last November.
The Iwai sisters are 22 years old and have won a combined 13 times on the JLPGA. Akie boasted top-10 finishes at two LPGA majors last season. Chisato tied for 19th at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open.
The No. 1-ranked player on the KLPGA in 2024, Yoon won once last season and posted 10 additional top-5 finishes. The 21-year-old ranked outside the top 300 in the world one year ago and is now inside the top 30.
Former LSU star Ingrid Lindblad played her way onto the LPGA this season via an abbreviated Epson Tour season. The former top-ranked amateur finished sixth in the Race to the Card standings after making only nine starts. She won the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic and finished runner-up twice on the developmental tour.
Lindblad won a record 15 times at LSU.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Top-ranked rookies to watch on the LPGA in 2025
