Celebrating 75 Years of the LPGA With the Legends Who Built It

In its inaugural season in 1950, the athletes who competed on the LPGA Tour were playing in 14 events, for a grand total of $50,000 in prize money. Oh, how the times have changed! Seventy-five years later, there are hundreds of active players on tour competing in 35 events and playing for $131 million, with the addition of 1,800 LPGA members who make up their professionals division.

The evolution of the longest standing women's sports organization is something that must be celebrated, and the Tour is doing exactly that.

In a two part feature video, with part two coming out later in the year, four former players and pioneers of the game: Meg Mallon, Pat Bradley, Beth Danielle, and JoAnne Carner sit down to discuss the how far the tour has come and the impact the growth has had on their lives every step of the way.

"These women played when women in the game of golf were insignificant, compared to our young athletes today—where they are very significant," says Pat Bradley, a six-time major winner and LPGA Hall of Famer. "If it wasn't for them, there would be no fairways for me or these young women out there today to walk."

We've elevated to an era of women's golf receiving the most visibility it has ever had, playing for record-breaking money prizes.

Terrence A. Duffy, CEO of CME Group, presents Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand with a check for $4 million after the final round of the CME Group Tour Championship 2024 at Tiburon Golf Club on November 24, 2024 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Throughout the 2025 season the LPGA will highlight special moments in the organization's history to commemorate what its founders created—honoring its past, and looking to inspire the next generation to continue to propel the game forward.