Exploring the 7 women including Lexi Thompson who have played at a Men’s PGA Tour event
One of the main attractions this week on the PGA Tour is Lexi Thompson's debut on the circuit. The event will take place this Thursday at the Shriners Children's Open and will undoubtedly be deeply inscribed in the history of world golf.
When Thompson tees off at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, it will be the 20th time a PGA Tour event has featured a female player. Lexi Thompson will be just the seventh woman to compete against the men on America's premier tour.
7 women who have played in Men's PGA Tour events
There are some big names in women's golf around the world who have played on the PGA Tour at least once. Let's see who they are:
#1 - Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias is one of the greatest American athletes of the 20th century. She excelled in track and field and baseball, but it was in golf that she showed her true talent.
In addition to her more than 80 victories (48 professional, 41 on the LPGA Tour, 10 majors), Babe was the first woman to play against men on the PGA Tour. She was also the first (and only) woman to make the cut in a men's tournament.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias played in seven PGA Tour events. She made her debut at The Cascades Open in 1935, where she missed the cut. In 1945, she made the first cut (36 holes) at the Los Angeles Open, but missed the second cut (54 holes) and did not play in the final round.
Months later, Babe Didrikson Zaharias played in the 1945 Phoenix Open, where she accomplished the feat of making the cut and playing all four rounds, finishing 33rd with a 20-over score of 284, 30 strokes behind winner Byron Nelson.
Babe would repeat her stellar performance that same year at the inaugural Tucson Open, where she also made the cut. There is no data about her score, but she did finish 42nd.
Below are all the tournaments in which 'Babe' Didrikson Zaharias played on the PGA Tour:
- 1935 The Cascades Open, 86-88--174 (MC)
- 1937 Chicago Open, 86 (WD)
- 1938 Los Angeles Open, 81-84--165 (MC)
- 1945 Los Angeles Open, 76-81-79--236 (MC)
- 1945 Phoenix Open 77-72-75-80--304 (33rd)
- 1945 Tucson Open, N/A (42nd)
- 1946 Los Angeles Open 81-81--162 (WD)
#2 - Shirley Spork
Shirley Spork was an American player who turned professional in 1950. Her athletic accomplishments are not great, but not because she lacked talent, but because she devoted most of her efforts to the development and promotion of the game of golf, and especially to the creation and consolidation of the LPGA Tour, of which she was one of the founders.
Spork played in the 1952 Northern California-Reno Open, a no-cut event. She shot four rounds of 77, 80, 77 and 80 (314) and finished tied for 105th.
#3 - Annika Sorenstam
It would be 51 years before a woman would compete against the men on the PGA Tour. It could only be another legend, Annika Sorenstam, who played in the 2003 Charles Schwab Challenge.
The Swede, winner of 97 professional events, 72 on the LPGA Tour (10 majors), scored two rounds of 71 and 74 to miss the cut at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
#4 - Suzy Whaley
A month after Sorenstam's visit to Texas, Suzy Whaley teed off in the 2003 Travelers Championship (then called the Greater Hartford Open). The event was significant because Whaley is from Connecticut, and because she came to the tournament by qualifying, not by invitation or exemption.
Whaley played in and won the Connecticut PGA Championship, which earned her a spot in the Travelers Championship field. However, this was questioned because she was allowed to play a 10% shorter course than the men in the regional tournament.
Whaley carded two rounds of 75 and 78 (153) to miss the cut. After the event, the PGA instituted the "Whaley Rule," which requires any player who wants to qualify for a men's event to play the same course as everyone else, regardless of gender or age.
#5 - Michelle Wie West
If the feats of Babe Didrikson Zaharias (and the rest of the aforementioned) were impressive, the exploits of Michelle Wie West were no less so. At just 14 years old, the Hawaii native was invited to play in her hometown tournament (the 2004 Sony Open) and showed clear signs of what was to become her career.
Wie West shot a 2-over 72 in the first round, with three birdies and five bogeys. But she fired a 2-under 68 (four birdies, two bogeys) in the second round to miss the cut by only one stroke.
Michelle Wie West would go on to play seven more PGA Tour events (including three more editions of the Sony Open in Hawaii). She never made the cut, but she surpassed "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias in the number of times she played against men at this level.
Here are all tournaments played by Michelle Wie West on the PGA Tour:
- 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii, 72-68--140 (MC)
- 2005 Sony Open in Hawaii, 75-74--149 (MC)
- 2005 John Deere Classic, 70-71--141 (MC)
- 2006 Sony Open in Hawaii, 79-68--147 (MC)
- 2006 John Deere Classic, 77 (WD)
- 2006 84 LUMBER Classic, 77-81--158 (MC)
- 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii, 78-76--154 (MC)
- 2008 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, 73-80--153 (MC)
#6 - Brittany Lincicome
The American received a sponsor's exemption to play in the 2018 Barbasol Championship. Lincicome was hoping to build on her previous experience playing against men on the mini-tours, but to no avail.
She struggled in the first round at Keene Trace Golf Club in Kentucky, carding a 78 with two bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey for just one birdie. She made up some ground on day two, carding a 71 with an eagle, five birdies and five bogeys. Her final score was five-over 149, nine strokes under the cut line.
#7 - Lexi Thompson
Lexi Thompson is just hours away from officially joining this list. History supports her claim that making the cut in Las Vegas would be one of the biggest accomplishments of her career.
Thompson is one of the top players in women's golf in the world. She hasn't had her best season, but she just shined at the Solheim Cup, and her last two LPGA Tour appearances have been outstanding (5th at The Ascendant and T8 at the Arkansas Championship). A lot can happen in Vegas.