Women's PGA Championship Scoring Records

The Women's PGA Championship is one of the major championships of women's professional golf. Do you know which golfers have carded the lowest scores in the tournament's history? Some big names (no surprise) appear on the lists below for lowest 72-, 18- and 9-hole scores. But there are also some surprises.

The Women's PGA Championship dates to 1955, when it debuted as the LPGA Championship. In 2015, the LPGA passed the responsibility for running the tournament to the PGA of America, and that is when the named changed.

Here are the most important scoring records in the Women's PGA Championship tournament:

Lowest Winning Score, 72 Holes

The best winning score so far is the 266 with which Sei Young Kim won the 2020 tournament. That score is one of just seven winning scores in tournament history lower than 270. For the others, see 72-Hole Scoring Record at Women's PGA Championship.

Most Strokes Under Par, 72 Holes

• 19-under — Cristie Kerr, 2010, at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York
• 19-under — Yani Tseng, 2011, at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York
• 19-under — Inbee Park, 2015, at Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York
• 19-under — Nelly Korda, 2021, at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia
• 17-under — Betsy King, 1992, at Bethesda Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland
• 17-under — Annika Sorenstam, 2004, at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware

Bonus record: Kerr's victory in 2010 was by 12 strokes, which is also the tournament record for largest margin of victory.

Lowest Score, 18 Holes

In the tournament's history, there have so far been five rounds of 63 recorded.

• 63 — Patty Sheehan, third round, 1984, at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center in Mason, Ohio
• 63 — Meg Mallon, third round, 1999, at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware
• 63 — Kelly Shon, second round, 2017, at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois
• 63 — Sei Young Kim, fourth round, 2020, at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
• 63 — Nelly Korda, second round, 2021, at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia

Lowest Final-Round Score by Winner

• 63 — Sei Young Kim, 2020, at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania
• 65 — Nancy Lopez, 1985, at Jack Nicklaus Sports Center in Mason, Ohio
• 65 — Juli Inkster, 1999, at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware
• 65 — Brooke Henderson, 2016, at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington

Kim's 2020 performance earned her places on several of these lists of Women's PGA Championship scoring records. She is No. 1 now in this category with the only sub-65 score by a winner in the final round. She was No. 1 up above in the 72-hole scoring record category, too. And that 63 was just the fourth recorded in tournament history.

Lowest Score, 9 Holes

There have been only two sub-30 scores for a front nine or back nine so far in tournament history:

• 29 — Karrie Webb, second round, 2001, at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware
• 29 — Sarah Kemp, fourth round, 2011, at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, New York

Photo credit: "File:Kim Sei-young LPGA Kingsmill 2017.jpg" by Keith Allison is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0