Five 2026 LPGA Rookies We're Keeping an Early Eye On

With the conclusion of final qualifying, we can now begin to look ahead to next season and get acclimated with some of the new names and faces joining the LPGA fold.

It was a cold and wet marathon at the final stage of Q School, the tournament even had to be condensed to 72 holes, nevertheless, 31 athletes secured their cards for 2026. We saw some familiar faces mixed in with new talent, but of that top-25 and ties who we will be seeing next year, 17 of them will be LPGA Tour Rookies.

This is a freshman class that's young and full of talent. From strong finishes at LPGA majors, to winning on the Epson and Ladies European tours—these five players already have our attention.

Yana Wilson

Age: 19

Just one year into her professional career, Yana Wilson is already a superstar. At the end of 2024, the teenager decided to forgo collegiate golf career and enrolled herself into LPGA Q-School. She failed to earn her LPGA status for 2025, but managed to get herself in position to be on the Epson Tour full-time, which she made fast work of.

In just five starts, Wilson had collected her first win.

By the end of the Epson season, the American has earned another win plus an additional 10 top-10s finishes. She had mathematically secured her LPGA card and didn't need to participate in Q School this time around.

Related: These 15 Players Just Earned Their 2026 LPGA Cards

Helen Briem

Age: 20

The German stands at 6 feet 3 inches tall and absolutely launches the ball, averaging around 268 yards off the tee.

Related: The Longest LPGA Hitters and Their Driving Averages

The 20-year-old earned medalist honors at final qualifying, finishing at 13-under after 72 holes.

Briem spent her 2025 season competing on the LET earning seven top-10s. She made three LPGA appearances this season, with her best finish coming at The Amundi Evian Championship where she finished T56

She'll look to follow in last year's Q series medalist Miyu Yamashita's shoes. The star from Japan ended her rookie season with Rookie of the Year honors, a major title, and sits inside the top-10 in the Rolex World Rankings.

Chiara Tamburlini

Age: 26

Another shining star from the LET is Chiara Tamburlini from Switzerland. She's been playing on the European circuit since 2023, and has earned three wins and 18 top-10s.

She has teed it up on the LPGA nine times before, including playing in every major championship in 2025, where she had two top-15 finishes: The AIG Women’s Open (T13) and The U.S. Women’s Open (T14).

Mimi Rhodes

Age: 23

As the 2025 Rookie of the Year on the LET, we expect big things from the English player. Despite just beginning her career, she's already known quite a bit of success, dating back to her collegiate years.

At Wake Forest Rhodes was a member of the 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf National Championship team, won the ACC Team Championships in 2022 and 2024, as well as earned All-American honors in 2024.

This year, Rhodes made a name for herself on the pro circuit collecting three wins and three additional top-10 finishes.

Erica Shepherd

Age: 24

We have a lefty entering the mix!

Erica Shepard is another collegiate golf standout making a name for herself in the next stage of her career.

In 2025, she secured her first win on the Epson Tour and finished 23rd on the Race for the Card points list, giving her a berth into Q School.

It's been quite a while since we've seen a left-handed player on the LPGA Tour, Bonnie Bryant was the only one to ever win an event in 1974.

Shepard has a rather silly story about how her swing came to be—and it wasn't by choice. "I have a brother that's older and he wanted me and my brother to be able to share the same bucket of balls, and like face each other, so that we wouldn't hit each other. So I was forced to be left-handed," she explained.

The LPGA's first event of 2026 will be the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions January 29 - February 1. It will be a limited field event, before the Tour heads to Asia for its first swing out East.

The first full-field event will be the Fortinet Founders Cup March 19-24.

Related: 2026 LPGA Schedule and Broadcast Coverage Plan