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Top 3 Finalists revealed for 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year

May 21, 2025 by Tara S

OKLAHOMA CITY — USA Softball has announced the Top 3 Finalists for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. The award is considered the most prestigious honor in college softball and recognizes outstanding athletic achievement among Division I softball players across the country.

Previous winners of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year include Stacey Nuveman (UCLA – 2002), Cat Osterman (Texas – 2003, 2005, 2006), Jessica Van der Linden (Florida State – 2004), Monica Abbott (Tennessee – 2007), Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech – 2008), Danielle Lawrie (Washington – 2009, 2010), Ashley Hansen (Stanford – 2011), Keilani Ricketts (Oklahoma – 2012, 2013), Lacey Waldrop (Florida State – 2014), Lauren Haeger (Florida – 2015), Sierra Romero (Michigan – 2016), Kelly Barnhill (Florida – 2017), Rachel Garcia (UCLA – 2018, 2019), Jocelyn Alo (Oklahoma – 2021, 2022), Valerie Cagle (2023) and most recently, NiJaree Canady (2024).

Click here to view the Top 3 Finalists »

Represented by two juniors and one senior from three NCAA Division I universities and three athletic conferences, the Top 3 Finalists for the 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year include Nebraska’s Jordy Bahl, Texas Tech’s NiJaree Canady and Arkansas’s Bri Ellis — each of which will take the stage at Super Regionals this weekend.

Jordy Bahl – Nebraska

Nebraska’s Jordy Bahl stands out as one of the top two-way players in NCAA Division I softball, proving dominant in both pitching and hitting. She ranks among the Top 10 nationally in eight key categories: batting average (.458), slugging percentage (.955), total bases (148), earned run average (ERA) (1.57), shutouts (7), strikeouts (254), strikeouts per seven innings (10.2) and wins (23). For her outstanding performance, Bahl has been recognized as both the Big Ten Pitcher and Player of the Year, in addition to earning four Big Ten Pitcher of the Week selections during the 2025 season.

NiJaree Canady – Texas Tech

Two-time Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and 2025 Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, NiJaree Canady, has made a powerful impact as a two-way player in her inaugural season with the Big 12 Conference. In the circle, she dominates with a nation-leading 0.81 ERA and 3.44 hits allowed per seven innings. Her performance places her in the Top 10 nationally for several key metrics, including wins (2nd – 26), strikeouts (4th – 263 K) and strikeouts per seven innings (6th – 10.2). At the plate, Canady ranks among the Top 10 in the Big 12 Conference for slugging percentage (7th – .667 SLG) and OPS (8th – 1.124 OPS), while also leading the conference in ERA (0.81), opponent batting average (.144), wins (26) and earned runs allowed (21). Canady is the most recent recipient of the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, winning it in 2024 while at Stanford University.

Bri Ellis – Arkansas

As the 2025 SEC Player of the Year, Bri Ellis from Arkansas is dominating the competition, leading the nation with a 1.189 slugging percentage and a .649 on-base percentage, while ranking second in the nation with 26 home runs. A true force at the plate, Ellis also stands on the NCAA leaderboard in batting average (4th – .475 BA), home runs per game (2nd – .50 PG), RBIs (7th – 72 RBI) and RBIs per game (5th – 1.38 PG). Among her SEC rivals, she claims the top spot in batting average (.475), slugging percentage (1.189), on-base percentage (.649), home runs (26), total bases (145) and walks (58). At Arkansas, Ellis has shattered single-season records in RBIs and home runs and is on track to set new program benchmarks in batting average and on-base percentage.

The 2025 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be announced on May 27 at the athlete banquet prior to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) set to take place at the Softball Capital of the World® May 29 – June 6.

Paired with the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award, USA Softball is also in its 23rd season of presenting the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll, which is released every Tuesday throughout the regular season with one final poll being released at the conclusion of the 2025 WCWS. Follow along with Division I NCAA Softball all season long at USASoftball.com.

Filed Under: Softball, Uncategorized

10 must-watch players at the 2025 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa

May 15, 2025 by Tara S

Cameron Jourdan | Golfweek

It’s time for the national championship.

The 2025 NCAA Women’s Golf Championship gets underway Friday at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course in Carlsbad, California. Thirty of the best women’s golf teams in the country will descend upon Southern California to battle it out for the national title.

And making up those teams are some of the best players in the amateur game. There are numerous stars who will play for the individual title over the coming days at Omni La Costa, including plenty who are finalists for the 2025 Annika Award.

10 players to watch at NCAA Women’s Golf Championship

Carla Bernat, Kansas State

Bernat, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion, beat the two top-ranked players in college golf to win the NCAA Lexington Regional last week, her third victory of the year.Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle

Carolina Chacarra, Wake Forest

Chacarra has been a stalwart in Wake Forest’s lineup since the Demon Deacons won the national title two years ago, and after winning the NCAA Lubbock Regional, she’s in form heading to Omni La Costa.

Hannah Darling, South Carolina

Darling hasn’t won since the season opening Annika Intercollegiate, but she also hasn’t finished outside of the top 14 and is always in contention in the biggest events.

Kary Hollenbaugh, Ohio State

Hollenbaugh has had a dominant spring, winning four times. A T-10 at the NCAA Columbus Regional is a “bad” finish for her, but no one has won more than her in 2025.

Maria Jose Marin, Arkansas

A constant presence in the Razorbacks’ lineup for two years, Marin knows how to content in big events, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to see her near the top of the leaderboard.

Farah O’Keefe, Texas

O’Keefe is the best player in college golf without a win this season, but she has seven top-10 finishes, including a solo second at the NCAA Lubbock Regional.

Andrea Revuelta, Stanford

It’s hard to pick just one player from Stanford, but Revuelta has been the hottest coming into the NCAA Championship, winning both the ACC individual title and NCAA Norman Regional.

Kiara Romero, Oregon

Romero was one of the most consistent players in the country heading into the postseason, and she finally broke through at the Big 10 Championship and added another win at the NCAA Gold Canyon Regional.

Mirabel Ting, Florida State

Ting is part of a dominant Florida State 1-2 punch (more on No. 2 later), winning five times this season and losing to only nine golfers in eight stroke-play events all year.

Lottie Woad, Florida State

The other half of the Seminoles’ dynamic duo, Woad led after the opening round at NCAAs last year and has remained the No. 1 amateur in the world for coming up on a year.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

McLaughlin-Levrone Runs Record 400-Meter Hurdles, Extends Grand Slam Track Streak

May 7, 2025 by Tara S

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone maintained her 400-meter crown this weekend, completing her second straight 400-meter events sweep at the Grand Slam Track series’ Miami meet on Sunday.

One month after completing the sweep at the first Grand Slam meet in Kingston, Jamaica, the 25-year-old US track star won Saturday’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.07 seconds before also taking Sunday’s 400-meter flat event in 49.69 seconds — a race that earned McLaughlin-Levrone a $100,000 winner’s check.

McLaughlin-Levrone has a veritable stranglehold on the 400-meter hurdles, dominating that race since her last loss at the 2019 World Championships.

In that span, she blasted through six world records across 12 straight victories — lowering the women’s 400-meter hurdles world standard from 52.16 seconds to a blistering 50.37-second pace.

With two more Grand Slam meets in Philadelphia and LA in the coming weeks, McLaughlin-Levrone is considering a literal change of pace, temporarily switching to run the 100-meter events — a distance she hasn’t competed in since 2018.

Should she take on the shorter sprints, McLaughlin-Levrone could find herself racing against the reigning Olympic champion in the 100-meter hurdles, Masai Russell — who notably posted the second-fastest time in the event’s history, not to mention a new US record, by winning in 12.17 seconds on Friday.

How to watch the final two Grand Slam Track meets

McLaughlin-Levrone, Russell, and other track stars will next compete in the third Grand Slam Track meet in Philadelphia from May 30th through June 1st, before closing out the series in LA between June 27th and June 29th.

All 2025 Grand Slam Track meets stream live on Peacock.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Oklahoma Wins 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championship Title

April 22, 2025 by Tara S

No. 2-seed Oklahoma won their third NCAA gymnastics championship in four years on Saturday, topping fellow finalists No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 7 Missouri with an overall score of 198.0125.

With seven titles since 2014, Oklahoma regains its reputation as the sport’s current dynasty, finishing atop the podium after falling short of a three-peat last year.

“Our theme wasn’t redemption this year at all,” Oklahoma head coach K.J. Kindler told reporters after Saturday’s victory.

“Does it make it sweet? Yes, but this team was capable of this last year. We just failed. And people fail all the time. They fail every day. And we talk about [it] all the time that the glory is in getting back up again.”https://www.instagram.com/p/DIpO489TFxE/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=1080&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fjustwomenssports.com&rp=%2Freads%2Fusa-hockey-wins-2025-iihf-world-championship-in-overtime-clash-with-canada-results%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A371.19999999552965%2C%22ls%22%3A205.79999999701977%2C%22le%22%3A205.79999999701977%7D

Freedom allowed Oklahoma to reclaim NCAA gymnastics crown

Last year, the then-defending champion Sooners stumbled in a shocking loss in the national semifinals, a fate the 2024 champion LSU squad similarly suffered last Thursday, when the top-seeded Tigers failed to advance to the final meet of 2025.

Between overcoming the semifinals hurdles themselves and seeing LSU ousted — arguably Oklahoma’s biggest competition entering the weekend — the Sooners were able to breathe easier and enjoy their last competition of the season.

“After advancing, and we got to today, we were free,” said senior Audrey Davis. “We had no weight on our shoulders. We were free to do our best gymnastics.”

That freedom had the Sooners leading the charge, finishing their first rotation on beam tied with eventual runners-up UCLA before taking full control of the meet — Oklahoma grabbed a second-rotation lead on the floor and never relinquished it.

As for the rest of the field, Missouri earned a program-record third-place finish in their first-ever NCAA final, while nine-time champions Utah closed their season in fourth.

For Oklahoma senior Jordan Bowers, the final weekend of her collegiate career was one for the books.

In addition to the team title, Bowers won the individual all-around competition during Thursday’s semifinals — a day that also crowned LSU’s Kailin Chio (vault), Missouri’s Helen Hu (beam), and UCLA’s Jordan Chiles (uneven bars) and Brooklyn Moors (floor) as national apparatus champions.

“Just truly a fairytale ending,” Bowers said on the ABC broadcast. “I’m so freaking proud of this team, and I’m so proud to be a Sooner.”

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Three American women inside WTA top-5 for first time in 21 years

February 25, 2025 by Tara S

byCristhián Avila | Tennis Up to Date

Madison Keys has risen in the WTA rankings, joining Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula in the top five. This is a remarkable achievement, as it’s been more than 20 years since three American women were simultaneously ranked in this elite group.

The last time this happened, Serena Williams (No. 3), Lindsay Davenport (No. 4), and Jennifer Capriati (No. 5) were all inside the top five. Together, they won 29 Grand Slam titles and spent nearly 450 weeks at the top of the rankings, with Williams leading the way.

This time, it’s Coco Gauff (No. 3), Jessica Pegula (No. 4), and Madison Keys (No. 5) who have secured top-five spots in the same week. Keys reached her career-best ranking on Monday, benefiting from point losses by Elena Rybakina and Jasmine Paolini, which allowed her to move up despite not playing.

Madison Keys’ rise marks first American top-5 trio

Over the past 52 weeks, Gauff has won titles at the WTA Finals and China Open, Pegula has triumphed at WTA 1000 Toronto and WTA 500 Berlin, while Keys has claimed victories in Australia and at WTA 500 Strasbourg Open and Adelaide. They currently trail only Aryna Sabalenka (No. 1) and Iga Swiatek (No. 2), who have alternated at the top of the rankings since April 2022, when Swiatek replaced Ash Barty following her retirement. Together, Sabalenka and Swiatek have spent 152 weeks as WTA No. 1.

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Madison Keys won her first Grand Slam title at the 2025 Australian Open. She defeated 2-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Gauff, Pegula, and Keys highlight the strong presence of American women in the WTA Tour, marking the first time since Williams-Davenport-Capriati in 2003 that three Americans are in the top five—three legends of the game.

While they lead the charge, American tennis’ strength is further reflected in the current rankings, with four players in the top 10, including Emma Navarro. Expanding to the top 20, Danielle Collins (No. 14) and Amanda Anisimova (No. 18) also feature. As of this Monday, there are nine Americans in the top 50 and 17 in the top 100.

The legendary trio of American stars

All three—Williams, Davenport, and Capriati—reached world No. 1 and won multiple Grand Slam titles. Serena Williams’ historic career is well known, with 23 Grand Slam titles and 319 weeks as world No. 1 between 2002 and 2017. Her compatriots also had stellar careers, with their peak years in the early 2000s.

Capriati first reached world No. 1 in 2001 and held the top spot for a total of 17 weeks. She won three Grand Slams, reached three other major finals, and claimed 14 titles, including an Olympic gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Games.

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Serena Williams won a total of 23 Grand Slam titles.

Davenport, on the other hand, won three Grand Slams, finished runner-up in four, and amassed a total of 55 titles while losing 38 finals. She also had an impressive 130 wins against top-10 players. Davenport held the No. 1 ranking for 98 weeks, making her the 10th player in history with the most weeks at the top.

The three Americans competed against some of the best players of their era and true legends of the game. Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, and Maria Sharapova were among those who challenged the Americans in major events and also battled for the top spots in the WTA rankings.

Filed Under: Tennis, Uncategorized, Women's Tennis

The Changemakers: Black women who blazed trails of activism

February 19, 2025 by Tara S

Mariah Lee | Just Women’s Sports

On Nov. 29, 2014, five days after a Missouri grand jury decided not to indict the police officer who killed Micheal Brown, Ariyana Smith became the first athlete to bring the #BlackLivesMatter movement into the sports landscape.

While Muhammad Ali, Colin Kaepernick and LeBron James are commonly thought of as the torchbearers of sports activism, Just Women’s Sports knows Black women have always been at the forefront of driving change. In the first piece of our Black History Month series, we shared the stories of Rose Robinson and Wyomia Tyus, athletes who fought against injustice in the 1950s and ‘60s. Since then, a myriad of Black sportswomen have taken action, some recognized and some not.

Smith, a basketball player at Knox College, suited up to play against Fontbonne University in Clayton, Miss., mere minutes from Ferguson. When the national anthem began to play, Smith raised her hands in the now iconic “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture before laying on the ground. Officials tried to move Smith in an attempt to start the game, but she continued her demonstration for four and a half minutes, symbolic of the four and a half hours Mike Brown’s body lay in the street after he was killed.

While the #BlackLivesMatter movement has spurred a frenzy of demonstrations in sports, Black women have been championing a variety of topics before the age of kneeling began. In the past twenty years, issues of racism, sexism and equality have been thrust into the public discourse due to the actions of Black women in sports, committed to creating a more just world for those who come after them.

Toni Smith

More than a decade before Ariyana Smith took a stand, a different Smith protested the national anthem. In 2003, Toni Smith, a senior basketball player at Division III Manhattanville College, turned her back to the flag in protest against inequality and the country’s involvement in Iraq.

img

(Wayne Taylor/Getty Images)

Venus Williams

In 2006, Venus Williams penned an open letter in The Times in a push for equal pay. A year earlier, she had addressed the Grand Slam Board, advocating for an equal distribution of prize money at the French Open and Wimbledon. Williams’ voice brought attention to the pay discrepancies in the sport of tennis and led to the leveling of pay at Wimbledon. When she won her fourth Wimbledon trophy in 2007, Williams became the first woman to receive the same earnings as that of the men’s champion.

Seimone Augustus

Seimone Augustus, a four-time WNBA champion and one of the most decorated players in women’s basketball, advocated for gay marriage in 2012. The 2011 WNBA Finals MVP wanted to marry her wife in the state where she had won a championship the year prior. The Minnesota Lynx star spoke out against a ballot measure that would have made same-sex marriage illegal in the Minnesota state constitution.

Brittney Griner and Layshia Clarendon

In 2017, Brittney Griner and Layshia Clarendon co-wrote an op-ed in which they voiced their opposition to a Texas bill that would have barred transgender people from using restrooms and other public facilities of their choosing. The WNBA stars saw the bill as a danger to queer athletes who may have been forced to use a locker room that differed from their gender identity.

Maya Moore

Maya Moore, one of the most accomplished women’s basketball players in the history of the sport, stepped away from the game at the peak of her success to pursue criminal justice reform. Moore dedicated herself to freeing her now-husband Jonathan Irons, who had been falsely imprisoned for burglary and assault. With the help of Moore, a judge overturned Irons’ conviction after he spent 23 years of his life in prison.

Serena Williams

Serena Williams has been outspoken about gender and racial equality for most of her illustrious tennis career. She wrote an open letter in 2016 addressing equal pay, and another in 2017, on Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, focusing on pay inequities unique to Black women. In 2018, Serena and Venus Williams joined the Billie Jean King Initiative to push for equal pay for women in all industries.

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(Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Allyson Felix

Allyson Felix brought attention to Nike’s refusal to guarantee salary protections for pregnant athletes in a 2019 New York Times op-ed. Felix, the most decorated U.S. track athlete, said that Nike attempted to pay her 70 percent less after she became a mother. Shortly after Felix’s public appeal, the company expanded its pregnancy benefits for women athletes.

Allyson Felix and Serena Williams are also champions for Black maternal health. Both women experienced life-threatening complications during childbirth, common to Black women. Felix underwent an emergency C-section to save herself and her daughter after doctors discovered she had severe preeclampsia. Williams developed a pulmonary embolism and a hematoma shortly after she gave birth, resulting in a series of surgeries and weeks of recovery before regaining her health.

Williams’ story brought national attention to the Black maternal health crisis, and she invested $3 million in a Black-owned startup aimed at improving prenatal and postpartum care for new mothers. Felix testified before Congress to petition the government to address systemic biases that lead to disparities in maternal mortality.

Gwen Berry

Gwen Berry raised her fist during the national anthem after winning the hammer throw at the 2019 Pan American games. Berry, a thrower for the U.S. women’s track and field team, was protesting racial inequality and police brutality, and was subsequently put on a 12-month probation by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. As a result, Berry lost several sponsorship deals, totaling nearly $50,000. After the Olympic Committee reversed their stance on protests in 2020, Berry demonstrated again at the 2021 Olympic Trials, this time by turning away from the flag.

Naomi Osaka

Days after Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man, was shot by police in Kenosha, Wisc., Naomi Osaka refused to play the semifinals of the Western and Southern Open, forcing the tournament’s postponement. Less than a week later, she arrived at the 2020 U.S. Open with seven masks in her duffle bag, each embroidered with the name of a Black victim of police violence: Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice. Osaka wore a different mask during each round of the tournament, winning her second U.S. Open title while drawing international attention to police brutality.

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(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Raven Saunders

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, while standing on the podium, Raven Saunders raised her arms and crossed them into an “X.” The American made the Game’s first podium demonstration after winning silver in the shot put. As a gay, Black woman with a history of mental health struggles, Saunders’ crossed arms symbolized the intersection of her oppressed identities.

Simone Biles

On the eve of further cementing herself as the greatest gymnast of all time, Simone Biles withdrew from the team final and women’s individual all-around final at the Tokyo Games. She cited mental exhaustion and physical health concerns after experiencing the “twisties,” a state of dissociation that inhibits a gymnast from completing a skill.

As arguably the face of the Tokyo Olympics, dealing with the pressure of breaking world records, Biles felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. In a sport that has long demanded obedience from its young athletes, the simple act of saying “no” sparked a moment of reckoning in sports. Biles, who announced in 2018 that she was sexually abused by Larry Nassar, a longtime doctor for USA Gymnastics, spurred conversations about mental health, abuse and exploitation with her decision. Biles, like so many other Black women athletes, continues to leverage her platform to drive societal change.

Mariah Lee is a professional athlete and freelance writer who specializes in the intersection of race and sports. She holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a M.S. from the Wake Forest School of Business. Follow her on Instagram @merdashewrote.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Napheesa Collier Wins Unrivaled 1v1 Tournament

February 19, 2025 by Tara S

Grant Young | Sports Illustrated

The Unrivaled one-on-one women’s basketball tournament has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of this league’s inaugural season.

There’s nothing like the world’s best basketball players going mano a mano while being broadcast on national TV. And while a ton of players have impressed across the tournament, the top who stood out among the pack were both former UConn Huskies: Unrivaled co-founder and Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and 2024 WNBA rookie for the Washington Mystics, Aaliyah Edwards.

These two stars met in the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament final after Edwards defeated Arike Ogunbowale and Collier beat Azurá Stevens during the Semifinals.

Unlike the rest of the tournament, the Finals were a best-of-three series, with each game being to 8 points instead of 11. Edwards secured Game 1 by a score of 9-6. Then Collier secured a smooth Game 2 victory by a score of 9-4.

Therefore, the tournament — and $200,000 cash prize to the winner — all came down to Game 3.

And it was Napheesa Collier who emerged victorious in Game 3, blanking Edwards by a score of 8-0 and as a result, getting crowned as the first Unrivaled one-on-one champion in the league’s history.

It was a successful evening for all four semifinalists, as they all got $25,000 for getting this far in the tournament. Being the runner-up, Edwards got $50,000. And every player on Lunar Owls BC gets $10,000 solely from being Collier’s teammate.

The Unrivaled broadcast noted how Collier was keen on doing this one-on-one tournament when putting the league together with co-founder Breanna Stewart. And we can now understand why.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Women Involved in the Super Bowl

February 11, 2025 by Tara S

Women’s Sports Foundation

Super Bowl LVIX is in the books and we’re highlighting some of the women who played key roles in helping to build both teams’ Super Bowl rosters:

🦅 Philadelphia Eagles
– Ameena Soliman, Director of Football Operations/Pro Scout and 2020 WSF Scott Pioli & Family Fund recipient
– Autumn Lockwood, Associate Performance Coach and the first Black woman coach to win a Super Bowl
– Laural McHale, Scouting Assistant

🐺 Kansas City Chiefs
– Madison Aponte, Player Personnel Coordinator
– Ellie Perrigo, Player Personnel Assistant

While these women are making an impact today, we need more women in football leadership in the future. That’s why the WSF Scott Pioli & Family Fund for Women Football Coaches and Scouts is breaking down barriers by providing direct financial support to help more women advance in football coaching and scouting. hashtag#TheEquityProject

Filed Under: Uncategorized

First-time LPGA Tour Champion Yealimi Noh Wins Founders Cup

February 11, 2025 by Tara S

dee lab | just women’s sports

After four days of stiff competition,​ the 2025 Founders Cup yielded a first-time LPGA Tour winner on Sunday as US golfer Yealimi Noh surged to victory on strong back-nine play in Bradenton, Florida.

The world No. 32-ranked Noh kicked off her sixth season with the LPGA by lifting her first trophy in her 111th start.

In just two holes on Sunday, the 23-year-old flipped a one-shot deficit into a three-shot lead, eventually claiming the $300,000 championship check with an overall 21-under-par performance.

“I always knew it would happen and it was a matter of time,” Noh told reporters after her win. “To really get it done, and especially in the first tournament of the year, is really nice.”

Noh, who earned a captain’s nod in the 2021 Solheim Cup, is officially on an upswing. After less successful 2022 and 2023 seasons, she made 21 cuts across her 25 LPGA starts in 2024, helping fuel last weekend’s blockbuster 2025 debut.

“Having a lot of better results and getting my confidence back and contending a few times last season really helped me carry that out through the winter and just really prepare for this week,” she explained. “[I] just felt really ready — this was going to be my year and week.”

South Korea's Jin Young Ko plays a shot during the 2025 Founders Cup's final round.
Jin Young Ko made bogeys on Sunday’s 13th and the 14th hole to finish the Founders Cup in second place. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Founders Cup sees additional standout performances

Just behind Noh on last weekend’s leaderboard is No. 7 Jin Young Ko. The South Korean star’s narrow lead fell when she made her first bogeys of the competition, logging two back-to-back on Sunday.

The 15-time LPGA title-winner capped her tournament four strokes back from Noh, with US golfer and world No. 17 Megan Khang one stroke behind Ko in third place.

World No. 1 Nelly Korda finished tied for seventh place after capping her Founders Cup outing nine shots behind Noh.

The US star will next take a seven-week break, opting to sit out the upcoming trio of LPGA Tour stops in Asia. Korda will instead continue to search for her first victory of 2025 at the end of March, when she tees off at the Ford Championship in Chandler, Arizona.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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