By: Max Bechtoldt
A new season often means new stars. Last year we saw breakout seasons from Ruoning Yin, Rose Zhang, Allisen Corpuz and of course, the LPGA Player of the Year, Lilia Vu. So who are some candidates to take the next step in 2024? Here are five players I could see taking this leap:
- Aditi Ashok – Obviously, women’s golf fans are familiar with Aditi Ashok mostly because of her top-five finish at the Tokyo Olympics. She has been strong on the Ladies European Tour with five career wins, including two in 2023. On the LPGA Tour she is still looking for her first career victory, but had five top-10s last year and lost in a playoff at the JM Eagle Championship. I would be shocked if she doesn’t win her first LPGA Tour event in 2024.
- Yuna Nishimura – I think even most LPGA fans don’t realize how rock-solid Nishimura was in her first full season on the LPGA Tour. Nishimura finished in the top 15 in five of the last seven events on the season, while missing only five cuts, mainly in the first half of the season. With the rise of Japanese golf on the LPGA Tour as of late, her name is one to watch.
- Alexa Pano – The only player on this list with a win, I expect to see a lot more consistency in 2024 out of 19-year-old Alexa Pano. Pano missed nine cuts in 2023, but also had four top-20 finishes along with the win in Ireland. Her flashes of potential and super young age give me a lot of hope for Pano’s immediate future.
- Celine Borge – Borge had some strong moments in 2023, highlighted by her top-three finish in the Amundi Evian Championship a week after finishing top three in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. At the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she was in second place going into the weekend, before finishing in 39th. She had enough great flashes, especially in majors, to believe she could be a strong player this season.
- Gabriela Ruffels – It feels like we’ve been waiting a long time for Ruffels to hit the tour. Ruffels’ signature moment was winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur over Albane Valenzuela. The next year, she took Rose Zhang to 38 holes, the second longest championship match ever. On the Epson Tour she won three events in 2023 and won Epson Tour Player of the Year. Ruffels is the heavy favorite to be the LPGA Rookie of the Year.
