Following completion of the AIG Women’s Open, the LPGA announced that Patty Tavatanakit has won the 2021 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, which goes to the player with the best record in all five major championships during the LPGA Tour season.

The 21-year-old Thai earned the honor thanks to her win at the ANA Inspiration and cemented it with two additional top-10s, including a T7 today at the AIG Women’s Open.

Despite not playing in the Evian (late withdrawal due to visa issues), Tavatanakit was the only major winner who posted two additional top-10 finishes: in four major starts she finished 1st, 5th, 7th, and 26th.

Tavatanakit joins Michelle Wie West (2014), Inbee Park (2015), Lydia Ko (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018) and Jin Young Ko (2019) as winners of the prestigious award. (The award was not given out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Points for the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award were awarded at all five major championships in 2021 to competitors who finished among the top 10 and ties: a win was worth 60 points, while second-place was 24 pts; 3rd-place secured 18 points, and so on.

To earn the award, a player must have also won at least one of the five majors.

Heading into the final major of the season, Nelly Korda was the leader with 78 points. Tavatanakit needed to finish eighth or better, and ahead of her American rival, to have a chance, and that’s exactly what she did: with a final-round 67, she tied for seventh and leapfrogged Korda, who finished T13. (Had Korda not made two bogeys on her final three holes, she’d have finished T10 and earned two points to tie Tavatanakit.)

1. Patty Tavatanakit
ANA Inspiration (1st, 60)
U.S. Women’s Open (T26)
Women’s PGA Championship (T5, 12)
Evian Championship (DNP)
Women’s British Open (T7, 8)
Points: 80 points

2. Nelly Korda
ANA Inspiration (T3, 18)
U.S. Women’s Open (MC)
Women’s PGA Championship (1st, 60)
Evian Championship (T19)
Women’s British Open (T13)
Points: 78 points

3. Minjee Lee
ANA Inspiration (T25)
U.S. Women’s Open (T54)
Women’s PGA Championship (T40)
Evian Championship (1st, 60)
Women’s British Open (T5, 12)
Points: 72 points

4. Yuka Saso
ANA Inspiration (T50)
U.S. Women’s Open (1st, 60)
Women’s PGA Championship (T21)
Evian Championship (DNP)
Women’s British Open (T39)
Points: 60 points

5. Anna Nordqvist
ANA Inspiration (T25)
U.S. Women’s Open (T49)
Women’s PGA Championship (T58)
Evian Championship (T38)
Women’s British Open (1st)
Points: 60 points