The 2026 LPGA season starts next week with the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and it will have a tough act to follow. The 2025 season was historic for a number of reasons, going all the way until October before we got our first repeat winner on Tour. Seven of those winners came from the record-setting rookie class, and there appears to be another promising rookie class coming up in their wake. There is a lot to be excited about for LPGA fans, and these are the six questions I want answers to in 2026.

1. How many times will Nelly Korda win?

I can’t think of a single player who has been as dominant but also as inconsistent as Nelly Korda. Beginning in 2019, she has had three, zero, five, two, one, seven, and zero wins per season. It is worth noting that the other goosegg came in just 12 events in 2020.

Korda had a fine 2025 season by anyone else’s standards. She was second in total strokes gained, fifth in Official Money, second in scoring average per round, and tied for fourth in top-10 finishes.

I would be completely shocked if Nelly Korda doesn’t win at least once this season. I think I will pick her for two wins. The LPGA is as deep and as young as it has ever been, which is the only reason I’m not picking her to win more. But if I had to guess, I would say Nelly has one more historic season in her, and it could come as soon as 2026. Either way, there is a good chance the answer to this question will define the LPGA season.

2. Will Jeeno Thitikul win her first major?

The way fans and media talk about her, you would think Jeeno was nearing 30 years old and the end of her prime. Jeeno doesn’t turn 23 until February, and while her seven career wins and three multi-win seasons on Tour have rightfully come with big expectations, I think it is far too early to read too much into her major performances. If she wins multiple times this season and is still shut out of the majors, the conversation may be different. This year’s major courses are the best of the best, with the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine, and the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham. I’m not sure how much that matters because there really aren’t many courses that don’t fit her game, though it may hurt her a bit if all of those courses play super long. I hope for all of our sakes that Jeeno wins at least one major so that we can put this narrative to rest once and for all.

3. How many rookies will win this year?

Seven rookies won in 2025, including four from Japan. No rookies won in 2024, though we had at least three wins by rookies in each of the three seasons before that. The Tour seems to get younger and younger each year, with half of the top 10 in the Rolex Player of the Year Rankings being younger than 25. The influx of new talent from Japan doesn’t appear to be slowing down, but it is hard to imagine we will have another historic year like the one we just had. I would expect maybe two rookies win, but even more than that make an impact on tour.

4. How many wins will the sophomore class get?

Is it crazy that I think this group could win even more in 2026? I feel like the Iwai twins both took a while to get their sea legs, and could be poised for bigger things this season. Chizzy Iwai didn’t have a single top-10 in seven starts when she won in Mexico in May, while five of Akie Iwai’s seven top-10s came after the calendar flipped to June.

Miyu Yamashita will have a hard time being better in her second season but Rio Takeda could easily win more than once. I also think at least one of the players who didn’t win as a rookie will get on the board in 2026. Jenny Bae probably has the best shot, but I could see Cassie Porter, Yahui Zhang, or my girl Julia Lopez Ramirez winning at least once.

At the end of the day, though, my main reason for believing this class could win more in 2026 is Lottie Woad. Woad only played 14 LPGA events last season, but she won her professional debut and added three more top-10s. I’m actually still surprised she only won once last season, but given a full schedule, there is a decent chance she wins at least twice this year. If I had to pick someone to win Player of the Year outside of Jeeno or Nelly, it might be Lottie.

5. Is this the year of the Rose Zhang breakout?

It seems like Rose Zhang has been around forever, and in some ways, she has. At the same time, she only turned pro in 2023, and she has 11 career top-10s and two career wins. She only played 14 events in 2025, making seven cuts with two top-10s and zero wins. Rose was much better in her first two professional seasons, and if nothing else, I think she will bounce back to her previous form. That being said, she is still very young, and there is no doubt she has the talent to be one of the best players in the game. I’m going to go ahead and predict that happens this season, which would be not a moment too soon for the U.S. Solheim Cup team.

6. Can the U.S. win the Solheim Cup?

Europe has won three of the last four Solheim Cups, including each of the last two held in Europe. And this may be the weakest U.S. team in some time. They really need Rose Zhang or Yealimi Noh to take a big step forward and join Nelly Korda as the superstars on this team. The rest of the team looks solid, if not spectacular. Based on the way she played last season, you would have to think Lexi Thompson would get a captain’s pick, assuming she doesn’t play enough events to make the team outright. Of course, Lexi’s record in seven Solheim Cup appearances is 10-10-7, so your mileage may vary on whether or not that’s a good thing. I would say at this point, I would be very surprised if the U.S. wins the Solheim Cup in the Netherlands, but there is still a ton of golf to be played between now and September.