14 Takeaways From the 2025 AIG Women's Open

And just like that, majors season has officially wrapped. We saw five drastically different majors, with five different winners—and I'm really trying to recall a year that felt this...congruent? Maybe that's not the right word, but this LPGA season feels synonymous with the word parity. The playing field is a level as I've seen it, and the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl felt like the physical manifestation of that sentiment.

It was a venue that didn't overly reward the long-hitters. It was links golf on center stage, demanding strategy, finesse, with a touch of luck—and it delivered a great product that ultimately came down to the wire.

A new champion has been crowned, and I have a few parting thoughts as we bid the 2025 majors adieu.

1. Bring on the International Crown!

Unlike in men's golf, the end of the majors just means more regular season golf continues for the LPGA Tour. The Tour will take a week off before returning stateside to Portland for The Standard Portland Classic.

But if you're already itching for big stakes golf, mark your calendars for Oct 23 - 26 because the International Crown is back and I feel like we're in for a real treat. The International Crown is a biennial team match play event hosted across the globe, where eight teams will go head-to-head in true country vs. country competition. In the past, its been seven of the best teams, comprised of four players from each country based on world rankings, that face off. But this year, for the first time ever, there will be an additional team made up of the top-ranked player from each of the following four regions, not from a country already qualified: Americas (North America and South America); Europe; Asia; and Africa and Oceania. This World Team will compete alongside teams representing seven countries.

My early pick? I've had a strong feeling since the U.S. Women's Open, and AIG confirmed it—the Japanese will be the team to beat.

RELATED: We Seriously Need to Talk About Women's Golf in Japan.

2. Porthcawl was a wonderful major venue. The pot bunkers were the main characters.

I have no words other than, simply sublime. Royal Porthcawl televised extremely well. Despite the sunny conditions, the difficulty translated, especially during the windy conditions of the final round.

But man—those pot bunkers. They stole the show.

The depth. The ripples. When players found themselves in them, they made them pay. Besides the weather, these babies were the teeth of this course. I'm obsessed with them.

3. We have a new world No.1.

Nelly Korda's 17-month long reign as the top player in the world is officially over. Since Korda finished outside of the top-25 at AIG, the torch has now been passed to Jeeno Thitikul, who at the beginning of the season was by far the hottest player in women's golf.

Thitikul's game hasn't been as red hot as 10 consecutive top-10s, but she's found herself in the mix—most recently at the Evian Championship, with a disappointing runner up finish to Gina Kim.

What does this mean for Korda? It's safe to say that she'll be just fine. Using her own words, she has nothing more to prove. We all know the kind of player she is, she's one of the best in her generation—and we're far from seeing her best.

4. This was Charley Hull's best finish...probably ever.

Now we've seen this movie before, Charley Hull T-2 at a major before, but this one feels different. I've watched a lot of women's golf, especially when the 29-year-old is in contention, and she has a pattern of struggling to close. That's not discounting her two LPGA titles and her four LET wins, but Hull seems to fall a bit short in the big moments.

She's the definition of a competitor, she loves to go for it—that's without question. But on the bigger stages she falls out of rhythm and the mental mistakes costs her. We saw a glimpse of it at Porthcawl, two late bogeys after going bogey free for 15 holes—but it wasn't a complete stumble to the finish line. In fact, this was the best form I've seen from Hull.

Her chasing down leaders is exactly how I picture her winning her first major, and I feel strongly that she will win a major if not a couple. She has the power and the grit, I think she just needs to overcome minor mental hurdles and she'll be tough to beat.

5. The rookies are getting better, faster.

Between our new champion Miyu Yamashita and Lottie Woad, two LPGA rookies in 2025—the kids are going to be alright. The youngsters are learning and adjusting to Tour life—and seem more at ease with the "moment" than previous generations.

Competitive golf at the early stages are more demanding—all the major amateur events demand flawless rounds if you want to be the best, and it's not just in the U.S., this is a global elevation. Golfers are getting better faster and younger.

6. Yani Tseng’s made cut deserved more love.

I won't call it a comeback, but this is certainly something to rejoice in. Yani Tseng, once the best player in women's golf, hadn't made a single LPGA cut since 2018. It's been more than 2,500 days since she's seen the weekend at a golf tournament, not a major, a golf tournament, period...until now.

Like we saw at Chevron, Tseng, is willing to do anything to find her game, and this week at AIG felt like the beginning of her turning a page. After battling years of injuries and self-doubt, this is a small win for the 36-year-old.

7. Jumping from channel to channel in the middle of majors…sucks.

I'm not one to beat a dead horse, but this LPGA coverage situation needs a solution before the 2026 majors. Jumping from channel to channel or different streaming platforms in the middle of coverage is the opposite of ideal. Especially when things are down to the wire, and the margins are so close. No one wants to miss a single shot—it severely takes away from the viewership experience.

But, I have hope for the new commissioner and the direction the Tour will head in under his leadership. Just last week, Kessler and his team got additional coverage for the final round of the Women's Scottish Open on CNBC. A small win, but a win none the less. Why? Well, despite streaming platforms being the new wave of watching, many people, especially golf fans aren't watching their golf coverage on an app. They're at home, most likely watching on a TV, the more variation in how to watch and where to watch is a good thing, and meeting people where they are at.

8. Karen Stupples is an underrated part of the broadcast.

The 2004 AIG Women's Open Champion (then the Weetabix Women’s British Open) knows ball. She calls shots and sets the scene incredibly well, and her on course correspondence is one of my favorites in the game at the moment. She has an earnestness to her that's unique and dare I say, a superpower. She had a fantastic week on the mic at AIG.

9. If you’re only tuning into women’s golf for Nelly and Charley, you’re missing out.

Hear me out...and let me begin with, I hear you! They're the clear standouts of the women's game and their rise in popularity will only continue to grow the women's golf product...but, if you're only tuning in when they're contending, you're preventing yourself from watching other incredibly talented players.

Players like Megan Khang, who finished T-6 at AIG playing alongside Charley Hull is one of my absolute favorite golfers to watch and she's extremely underrated. I've always admired her grit, she and her family have an incredible story, she's easy to root for. I fell in love with her energy at last year's Solheim Cup—watching her IRL was like taking 8 espresso shots. And then there's her swing. Incredibly balanced, she isn't the longest hitter but she's insanely accurate.

There are dozens of players like Khang, with compelling stories and backgrounds, with infectious energy both on and off the course. Whether you're a seasoned fan or a newcomer, as the rest of the season plays out, challenge yourself to find another player to learn a little bit more about and start rooting for them.

10. That said…we’re going to continue to see a lot more of Miyu Yamashita.

Prepare to see a whole lot more from the recent champ. The 24-year-old rookie is having an insane first season on the LPGA. In 16 starts, she's made 14 cuts, and has seven top-10 finishes. Prior to joining the LPGA, Yamashita made 12 starts on Tour, including a runner-up finish at the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She primarily competed on the JLPGA Tour, where she earned 13 wins including three major championships between April 2021 to November 2024. She went on to earn medalist honors at the Final Qualifying portion of LPGA Q-Series to earn LPGA Membership for the 2025 season.

She's a young star with plenty of talent, and her composure is remarkable to witness, making the emotions we saw from her on 18 all the more special.

11. AIG proved Charley right—golf is better when players have to finesse.

Golf is an art form. From green reading to all the different ways to approach a 30-yard shot off a tight lie. Once upon a time, our game was about finesse—finding creative ways to get the ball in the hole in the fewest amount of tries. But these days, it feels so straight forward.

Ahead of the competition, Hull said in her presser that, “I think golf back 20, 30 years ago, say 19—up to like 2000s, it was more of an art. The players, even then men, would have to hit draws and fades and stuff it in, where I think now it's become more of a power game and where it's become -- the technology has advanced so much everyone can just hit it straight and far, and it's kind of taking the art away from it."

"Whenever I watch golf, I watch golf and all that lot, like who won the British Open in the 1970s and that. I find it way more interesting back then.

Like I wouldn't really watch golf now really.”

She was right just days ago, and now that AIG has concluded, she's even more correct. Players couldn't brute force their way around Porthcawl. When the winds picked up, a lot of their shots were at the mercy of Mother Nature, and the best in the world were challenged to find ways to manage their games...as it should be.

It was extremely entertaining to see the varying choices in club selection on certain holes—and seeing how ball placement, no matter how long or short, was the true key.

12. A Lim Kim is one of the most entertaining players to watch!

I've sort of eluded to this earlier, but the women's game has so many characters! A Lim Kim, aka A Lim Queen is one of them. The way she showed up to the range ahead of the final round is all the proof I need.

I'll always remember the zero hesitation shot of the cart path she hit right in front of me at Mizuho.

The woman is gutsy.

13. I love seeing the players sticking around to celebrate one another.

There's something so endearing about watching others being happy for someone else. It's a reminder that feeling joy that's not your own is a beautiful part of the human experience.

Imagine being a 20-something, experiencing arguably the biggest moment of your life and your family isn't there to see you or celebrate with you. But a few close friends, who know what it's like to be far from home in a distant place where you don't speak the language are there waiting for you, ready to shower you in champagne and congratulations.

Yamashita's family was with her in Porthcawl, but it was nice to see her fellow compatriots lying wait, too.

14. Evian remains the major finish we won't soon forget.

As much as I enjoyed AIG, the finish we all saw at Evian was a tough act to follow. I mean it had everything—drama, chips in, a kangaroo—it was a major finish that we'll all be thinking about for quite some time.

(I also just wanted another reason to post this video of Grace Kim.)

Farewell, 2025 majors! Until we meet again.