One of the LPGA's brightest young players, Kristen Gillman, has earned her first win as a professional golfer. With the pandemic-interrupted 2020 season, however, it wasn't on the LPGA Tour — it was on the WAPT Tour.
Gillman won the Hurricane Classic, played in Anna, Texas, which concluded on June 12, 2020. The WAPT (for Women's All Pro Tour) is the official third-level of women's professional golf in the United States, with developmental tour status to the Symetra Tour.
Gillman, along with a handful of other LPGA Tour players (past and present) were entered, plus many Symetra Tour players and others of note, giving the Hurricane Classic a particularly strong field for a WAPT event.
Gillman finished at 14-under 274, winning by six strokes over runner-up Maria Fassi. Top amateur Alexa Pano was third. You can view the final scores here.
As noted, it was the first win as a professional for the 22-year-old Gillman, who is in her second year on the LPGA Tour. (In the photo above, she is posing with the U.S. Women's Amateur trophy, which she won in 2014 and 2018.)
In 2019, her rookie year on the LPGA Tour, Gillman finished 43rd on the money list, eighth in putting average, seventh in eagles and second in the Rookie of the Year standings. She made the cut in 22 out of 26 starts, with a best finish of tied for third in the Buick LPGA Shanghai.
Before turning pro, Gillman earned All-America honors in 2017 and 2018 at the University of Alabama. She played on Team USA in he 2018 Curtis Cup.