Lydia Ko to receive Heather Farr Perseverance Award, Ally Ewing the Founders Award at the 2024 Rolex LPGA Awards

Awards Ceremony moves to Wednesday of CME Group Tour Championship, streaming on Peacock

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Nov. 12, 2024 – Today, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced the recipients of the 2024 Heather Farr Perseverance Award and the 2024 Founders Award, Lydia Ko (Heather Farr) and Ally Ewing (Founders). Both players, who were chosen and voted on by LPGA Membership, will accept their respective awards at the LPGA Tour’s season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship, during the 2024 Rolex LPGA Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 20.

“Both Lydia and Ally have demonstrated not only a love for the game of golf, but also a spirit of gratitude in all that they do,” said Vicki Goetze-Ackerman, LPGA Player President. “They have served as role models for their peers, both on and off the golf course, and gained the respect of so many through their actions. Their impact on the LPGA and golf community is unmatched and we are excited to celebrate their tremendous careers.”

Lydia Ko

LPGA Hall of Fame member Lydia Ko will receive the 2024 Heather Farr Perseverance Award, which honors an LPGA Tour player who, through her hard work, dedication and love of the game of golf, has demonstrated determination, perseverance and spirit in fulfilling her goals as a player. A Tour veteran, Ko began her journey on the LPGA Tour in 2012, winning the CPKC Women’s Open as both an amateur and sponsor exemption. She successfully defended her title in 2013 and was granted Membership for the following season. Since then, she has won an additional 21 times, including three major championship titles, and represented New Zealand in the Olympic women’s golf competition three times, earning a medal in each appearance: 2016 Rio (Silver), 2020 Tokyo (Bronze) and 2024 Paris (Gold).

Entering her 2024 season, Ko needed two points to meet the minimum point threshold of 27 points to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Following her win at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and her first-place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she reached the threshold and became the youngest player to be inducted under its current criteria. She followed up her gold medal with an additional two wins this season including the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G and a major championship victory at the AIG Women’s Open.

Ko has earned numerous Rolex LPGA Awards including Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors (2014), Rolex Player of the Year (2015, 2022), the Founders Award (2021), Vare Trophy, (2021, 2022), and now, the 2024 Heather Farr Perseverance Award. She is the fifth player to receive both the Founders and Heather Farr Perseverance Awards, following Heather Farr, Shelley Hamlin, Lorie Kane and Lorena Ochoa.

Established in 1994, the Heather Farr Perseverance Award honors LPGA Tour player Heather Farr, who died on Nov. 20, 1993, following a four-and-a-half-year battle with breast cancer. Previous winners of this award include Farr, Lorie Kane, Nancy Scranton, Brandi Burton, Kris Tschetter, Kim Williams, Beth Daniel, Se Ri Pak, Leta Lindley, Sophie Gustafson, Lisa Ferrero, Stephanie Meadow, Ariya Jutanugarn, Tiffany Joh, Jessica Korda, Suzann Pettersen, Madelene Sagstrom, Elizabeth Nagel and Jane Park.

“Words cannot describe how immensely grateful I am to receive this award from my peers,” said Ko. “There have been countless hours of time and hard work to get to where I am in my career now, but I would be nowhere without the many people that supported, encouraged and believed in me at every stage. This year has been incredible in so many ways and it is a time that I will always cherish, so to receive an award of this significance at the end of my 2024 season is truly special.”

Ally Ewing

Ally Ewing will be honored as the 2024 Founders Award recipient, which is given to an LPGA Member who, in the opinion of her playing peers, best exemplifies the spirit, ideals and values of the LPGA through her behavior and deeds.

An Epson Tour graduate, Ewing played on the Road to the LPGA in 2016. The year was pivotal for her personally and professionally, as she earned the second-highest earnings total in the Tour’s history at the time ($110,359) yet was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Following her 2016 season, she earned the Heather Wilbur Award on the Epson Tour, which is voted on by players and presented to the player who best exemplifies the dedication, courage, perseverance, love of the game and spirit toward achieving the goals as a professional golfer. Ewing is the first player to receive both the Heather Wilbur and Founders Awards.

Ewing began her rookie year on the LPGA Tour in 2017, and after three seasons, she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2020 LPGA Drive On Championship. An additional two victories and 24 career top-10 finishes later, Ewing is known for her unwavering attitude and devout team spirit amongst players, and specifically during her four stints on the U.S. Solheim Cup Team in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024. Her first experience in a Solheim Cup was in 2019, when Ewing took the place of Stacy Lewis, who withdrew from the competition due to injury. In her most recent appearance this year, she was seen as a veteran, a leader and a voice for the young team. Following the victory at the Solheim Cup and her playing at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, an event she won in 2022, Ewing announced her retirement from professional golf in the days leading up to the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G, the closest tournament to her home state of Mississippi. Going into the 2024 season, she knew this would be her final year competing on the LPGA Tour and in her retirement press conference, Ewing noted looking forward to spending more time at home with family and friends.

Established in 1986, previous recipients include Kathy Whitworth, Nancy Lopez, Pat Bradley, Betsy King, Juli Inkster, Lorena Ochoa, Chella Choi, Karrie Webb, So Yeon Ryu, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, In Gee Chun and Lexi Thompson.

“I always hoped I could leave a mark on people and the LPGA so to be chosen for this is such an immense honor,” said Ewing. “I’m so fortunate to have been treated so well through the years by my peers, so having them vote on me for this award is such a blessing. I will miss the people of this tour so much and I can’t thank them enough for choosing me to be this year’s recipient.”

The Green Carpet will be livestreamed on LPGA.com and the LPGA’s Facebook page at 6:15 p.m. Eastern, and the 2024 Rolex LPGA Awards livestream will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Peacock.

LPGA Announces 2024 Heather Farr Perseverance Award and Founders Award Recipients

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