A mix-up in LPGA Tour paperwork has created quite a headache for everyone involved, with German golfer Sophia Popov playing in three tournaments she shouldn’t have been eligible for.
The error stems from a mistake in the LPGA’s 2025 Priority List – basically the tour’s pecking order that determines who gets to play in which events.
Popov, who won the AIG Women’s Open in 2020, competed in the Founders Cup, Honda LPGA Thailand, and HSBC Women’s World Championship this season. She finished in the middle of the pack in all three events.
But here’s where it gets messy: Those results now have to be wiped from the official records.
Even worse, three other players who should have had their chance to compete got left out in the cold. Saki Baba, Hira Naveed, and Peiyun Chien were supposed to be first alternates for these tournaments.
The LPGA’s top brass is scrambling to fix things. Ricki Lasky, their Chief Tour Operations Officer, sent out an apologetic memo to players on Friday, promising to make things right for everyone affected.
So how did this happen?
It all comes down to some confusion about Popov’s status. She was listed as 57th on the Priority List with a maternity leave notation in January. But a revised March list had her in a completely different category – and that’s where things went wrong.
The past couple years haven’t been easy for Popov. She discovered a shoulder injury at Muirfield in 2022, then found out she was pregnant while recovering. After taking 2023 off for the birth of her daughter, she came back to play 17 events in 2024.
She finished 136th in last year’s rankings and couldn’t improve her position at Q-Series in December. According to the rules, that should have put her much further down the priority list than where she ended up playing.
The LPGA is now working on a solution to make things right for everyone involved, but it’s a reminder that even small administrative errors can have big consequences in professional sports.
