Women's major golf championships

Women's golf has evolved a set of major championships which parallels that in men's golf, but the women's system is younger and has been less stable than the men's. Many professional stroke play events for women are played over three rounds (54 holes), but the majors are played over four rounds (72 holes), which is the standard length of regular men's tournaments. This is the same distinction as for senior men's tournaments.

LPGA majors

Current position

The LPGA's list of majors has changed several times over the years, with the last change in 2001, after the du Maurier Classic, held in Canada, lost its primary sponsorship after that country passed severe restrictions on tobacco advertising. The tournament, now known as the Canadian Women's Open, is still a regular event on the LPGA tour, but with a lower profile (although its winner receives an automatic berth in the LPGA season championship). The LPGA replaced the du Maurier Classic on its list of majors with the Women's British Open. The LPGA currently recognizes four majors. In the order in which they are played each year these are:

As in men's golf, three of the majors are played in the United States and one is played in the United Kingdom. The U.S. and British Opens match their male equivalents, and the LPGA Championship is analogous to the PGA Championship, so by default the Kraft Nabisco Championship is the closest equivalent of The Masters. Unlike the men's equivalents, with the sole exception of the U.S. Women's Open, the women's majors have title sponsors.

Another unique distinction of the LPGA majors is that no tour event is held in the week after any of the four events—unlike the PGA Tour or European Tour in mainstream (under-50) men's golf, or the Champions Tour in senior men's golf, all of which conduct events in the week following the four mainstream majors and the five senior majors.

In another unique feature, the winners of the four women's majors receive automatic entry to the LPGA's season championship, the LPGA Playoffs at The ADT. The Champions Tour has no season-ending championship. The PGA Tour's season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs are a series of four events; while major winners are technically not guaranteed entry into even the first playoff event, the FedEx Cup point allocations for major winners are sufficiently high that the winner of one major is essentially assured of making the top 144 in points and qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs.

History

Seven different events are classified as having been LPGA majors at some time. The number in each season has fluctuated between two and four. The first tournament which is now included in the LPGA's official list of major victories is the 1930 Western Open, although this is a retrospective designation as the LPGA was not founded until 1950.

Western Open: 1930-1967
Titleholders Championship: 1937-42; 1946-66; 1972
U.S. Women's Open: 1950-date
LPGA Championship: 1955-date
du Maurier Classic: 1979-2000
Kraft Nabisco Championship: 1983-date
Women's British Open: 2001-date

LPGA major winners

The first table shows the four current majors in the order in which they are played each year. The two tables for the earlier periods do not necessarily show the tournaments in the order in which they were played.

Year	Kraft Nabisco Championship	LPGA Championship	U.S. Women's Open	Women's British Open
2007	Morgan Pressel	Suzann Pettersen	Cristie Kerr	Lorena Ochoa
2006	Karrie Webb	Se Ri Pak	Annika Sörenstam	Sherri Steinhauer
2005	Annika Sörenstam	Annika Sörenstam	Birdie Kim	Jeong Jang
2004	Grace Park	Annika Sörenstam	Meg Mallon	Karen Stupples
2003	Patricia Meunier-Lebouc	Annika Sörenstam	Hilary Lunke	Annika Sörenstam
2002	Annika Sörenstam	Se Ri Pak	Juli Inkster	Karrie Webb
2001	Annika Sörenstam	Karrie Webb	Karrie Webb	Se Ri Pak

Year	Kraft Nabisco Championship	LPGA Championship	U.S. Women's Open	du Maurier Classic
2000	Karrie Webb	Juli Inkster	Karrie Webb	Meg Mallon
1999	Dottie Pepper	Juli Inkster	Juli Inkster	Karrie Webb
1998	Pat Hurst	Se Ri Pak	Se Ri Pak	Brandie Burton
1997	Betsy King	Christa Johnson	Alison Nicholas	Colleen Walker
1996	Patty Sheehan	Laura Davies	Annika Sörenstam	Laura Davies
1995	Nanci Bowen	Kelly Robbins	Annika Sörenstam	Jenny Lidback
1994	Donna Andrews	Laura Davies	Patty Sheehan	Martha Nause
1993	Helen Alfredsson	Patty Sheehan	Lauri Merten	Brandie Burton
1992	Dottie Mochrie	Betsy King	Patty Sheehan	Sherri Steinhauer
1991	Amy Alcott	Meg Mallon	Meg Mallon	Nancy Scranton
1990	Betsy King	Beth Daniel	Betsy King	Cathy Johnston-Forbes
1989	Juli Inkster	Nancy Lopez	Betsy King	Tammie Green
1988	Amy Alcott	Sherri Turner	Liselotte Neumann	Sally Little
1987	Betsy King	Jane Geddes	Laura Davies	Jody Rosenthal
1986	Pat Bradley	Pat Bradley	Jane Geddes	Pat Bradley
1985	Alice Miller	Nancy Lopez	Kathy Baker	Pat Bradley
1984	Juli Inkster	Patty Sheehan	Hollis Stacy	Juli Inkster
1983	Amy Alcott	Patty Sheehan	Jan Stephenson	Hollis Stacy
1982	Not yet a major	Jan Stephenson	Janet Anderson	Sandra Haynie
1981	Not yet a major	Donna Caponi	Pat Bradley	Jan Stephenson
1980	Not yet a major	Sally Little	Amy Alcott	Pat Bradley
1979	Not yet a major	Donna Caponi	Jerilyn Britz	Amy Alcott
1978	Not yet a major	Nancy Lopez	Hollis Stacy	Not yet a major
1977	Not yet a major	Chako Higuchi	Hollis Stacy	Not yet a major
1976	Not yet a major	Betty Burfeindt	JoAnne Carner	Not yet a major
1975	Not yet a major	Kathy Whitworth	Sandra Palmer	Not yet a major
1974	Not yet a major	Sandra Haynie	Sandra Haynie	Not yet a major
1973	Not yet a major	Mary Mills	Susie Berning	Not yet a major

Year	Women's Western Open	LPGA Championship	U.S. Women's Open	Titleholders Championship
1972	Ceased	Kathy Ahern	Susie Berning	Sandra Palmer
1971	Ceased	Kathy Whitworth	JoAnne Carner	No tournament
1970	Ceased	Shirley Englehorn	Donna Caponi	No tournament
1969	Ceased	Betsy Rawls	Donna Caponi	No tournament
1968	Ceased	Sandra Post	Susie Berning	No tournament
1967	Kathy Whitworth	Kathy Whitworth	Catherine Lacoste	No tournament
1966	Mickey Wright	Gloria Ehret	Sandra Spuzich	Kathy Whitworth
1965	Susie Maxwell	Sandra Haynie	Carol Mann	Kathy Whitworth
1964	Carol Mann	Mary Mills	Mickey Wright	Marilynn Smith
1963	Mickey Wright	Mickey Wright	Mary Mills	Marilynn Smith
1962	Mickey Wright	Judy Kimball	Murle Lindstrom	Mickey Wright
1961	Mary Lena Faulk	Mickey Wright	Mickey Wright	Mickey Wright
1960	Joyce Ziske	Mickey Wright	Betsy Rawls	Fay Crocker
1959	Betsy Rawls	Betsy Rawls	Mickey Wright	Louise Suggs
1958	Patty Berg	Mickey Wright	Mickey Wright	Beverly Hanson
1957	Patty Berg	Louise Suggs	Betsy Rawls	Patty Berg
1956	Beverly Hanson	Marlene Hagge	Kathy Cornelius	Louise Suggs
1955	Patty Berg	Beverly Hanson	Fay Crocker	Patty Berg
1954	Betty Jameson	Not yet founded	Babe Zaharias	Louise Suggs
1953	Louise Suggs	Not yet founded	Betsy Rawls	Patty Berg
1952	Betsy Rawls	Not yet founded	Louise Suggs	Babe Zaharias
1951	Patty Berg	Not yet founded	Betsy Rawls	Pat O'Sullivan
1950	Babe Zaharias	Not yet founded	Babe Zaharias	Babe Zaharias
1949	Louise Suggs	Not yet founded	Louise Suggs	Peggy Kirk
1948	Patty Berg	Not yet founded	Babe Zaharias	Patty Berg
1947	Louise Suggs	Not yet founded	Betty Jameson	Babe Zaharias
1946	Louise Suggs	Not yet founded	Patty Berg	Louise Suggs
1945	Babe Zaharias	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	No tournament (World War II)
1944	Babe Zaharias	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	No tournament (World War II)
1943	Patty Berg	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	No tournament (World War II)
1942	Betty Jameson	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Dorothy Kirby
1941	Patty Berg	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Dorothy Kirby
1940	Babe Zaharias	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Betty Hicks
1939	Helen Dettweiler	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Patty Berg
1938	Bea Barrett	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Patty Berg
1937	Betty Hicks	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Patty Berg
1936	Opal Hill	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Not yet founded
1935	Opal Hill	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Not yet founded
1934	Marian McDougall	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Not yet founded
1933	June Beebe	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Not yet founded
1932	Jane Weiller	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Not yet founded
1931	June Beebe	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Not yet founded
1930	Mrs. Lee Mida	Not yet founded	Not yet founded	Not yet founded

The "Grand Slam"

No woman has completed a four-major Grand Slam, but Babe Zaharias won all three majors contested in 1950 and Sandra Haynie won both majors in 1974.

Six women have completed a "Career grand slam" by winning four different majors. There are variations in the set of four tournaments involved as the players played in different eras. The six are: Pat Bradley; Juli Inkster; Annika Sörenstam;