Lexi Thompson will become the seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event when she tees it up at next week’s Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the first to do so, in 1935, and Brittany Lincicome was the most recent, in 2018.
Others include Shirley Spork, Annika Sorenstam, Suzy Whaley and Michelle Wie West. Here’s a look at how they fared:
Babe Didrikson Zaharias
Arguably the greatest female athlete ever, Zaharias played in seven events on what is now the PGA Tour. She twice made the cut, in the 1945 Phoenix and Tucson Opens, and remains the only woman to make a cut on Tour. She also played three rounds in the ’45 L.A. Open, which had a 54-hole cut.
Aug 20, 2017; West Des Moines, IA, USA; A photo of Shirley Spork, one of the original 13 founders of the LPGA, during her playing days is seen on the final day of the Solheim Cup at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register via USA TODAY NETWORK
Kelsey Kremer-USA TODAY Sports
Shirley Spork
The LPGA co-founder competed in the 1952 Northern California-Reno Open. She finished 105th in the no-cut event.
Annika Sorenstam
Sorenstam, then the world’s best female player, received a sponsor’s invitation to play the 2003 Bank of America Colonial. Though there was some pushback from a few Tour members, and a heavy public/media interest, she acquitted herself well, shooting 71-74 to miss the cut by four shots.
Suzy Whaley
The future PGA of America president qualified for the ’03 Greater Hartford Open by winning the 2002 Connecticut PGA Section Championship. She shot 75-78 to miss the cut. Whaley is the only female, outside of Zaharias (twice), to qualify to compete in a Tour event and not receive a sponsor’s exemption.
Michelle Wie West
As a 14-year-old amateur prodigy, Wie West was given a sponsor’s invitation to compete in the Sony Open in her native Hawaii. She shot 72-68 to miss the cut by one shot, with her second round the lowest score ever posted by a female in a Tour event. She played seven times more on Tour – all on sponsor’s exemptions – but never made the cut.
Brittany Lincicome
The two-time major champion received a sponsor’s invitation to play the 2018 Barbasol Championship. She missed the cut, shooting 78-71 (the second woman, after Wie West, to break par on Tour), but had a stretch of three consecutive birdies in her second round and a hole-out eagle.
Table of results, per PGA Tour records:
| Player | Event | Result | Scores |
| Brittany Lincicome | 2018 Barbasol Championship | MC | 78-71--149 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2008 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open | MC | 73-80--153 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii | MC | 78-76--154 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2006 84 LUMBER Classic | MC | 77-81--158 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2006 John Deere Classic | WD | 77 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2006 Sony Open in Hawaii | MC | 79-68--147 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2005 John Deere Classic | MC | 70-71--141 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2005 Sony Open in Hawaii | MC | 75-74--149 |
| Michelle Wie West | 2004 Sony Open in Hawaii | MC | 72-68--140 |
| Suzy Whaley | 2003 Greater Hartford Open | MC | 75-78--153 |
| Annika Sorenstam | 2003 Bank of America Colonial | MC | 71-74--145 |
| Shirley Spork | 1952 Northern California-Reno Open | 105 (no cut) | 77-80-77-80--314 |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 1946 Los Angeles Open | WD | 81-81--162 |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 1945 Tucson Open | 42 | Round scores not listed |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 1945 Phoenix Open | 33 | 77-72-75-80--304 |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 1945 Los Angeles Open | MC (54-hole cut) | 76-81-79--236 |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 1938 Los Angeles Open | MC | 81-84--165 |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 1937 Chicago Open | WD | 86 |
| Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 1935 The Cascades Open | MC | 86-88--174 |
