The idea of a “triple crown” isn’t really something associated with golf. We have tournament titles, scoring leaders, major champions and grand slam winners. But what if it did exist golf?
In other sports, the designation is typically used to highlight a player’s all-around game, mostly within a single season. In baseball, winning the hitters’ triple crown means leading a league in batting average, home runs and RBI. These days, it’s very rare; in the last 49 years, only one player has claimed the batting triple crown—Miguel Cabrera in 2012 with the American League’s Detroit Tigers. There’s also a pitchers’ triple crown, when you claim top honors in wins, ERA and strikeouts. Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal both did it in 2024, but that was the first time in a non-COVID year that it had happened in 14 years.
The NFL has its own triple crown for wide receivers, who vie to lead the league in catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Since the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, only five players have won this, most recently, Cooper Kupp in 2021 and Ja’Marr Chase in 2024.
So why are we getting so worked up on the idea of a triple crown? Well, we have an idea for one in golf that feels meaningful in trying to characterize of a player’s complete game while also being a fairly exceptional accomplishment.
It’s also something that could be achieved this year.
OK, here goes: In golf, there are three different types of holes. par 3s, par 4s and par 5s. Each requires a different style of game. Clearly players who excel on par 5s are likely to be those who can hit it longer, reach the longest holes on the course in two shots and make a lot of birdies and eagles. However, will those same players have the iron play and accuracy to master par 3s?
With in that in mind, could a player complete a season leading their respective tour in par-3 scoring, par-4 scoring and par-5 scoring? The answer is yes, but it’s extremely rare.
On the PGA Tour, only two players going back to 1987, when detailed scoring data was first gathered, have won our “triple crown” of scoring. They are Tiger Woods (what a surprise?!?), who did in 2000 and 2009, and Dustin Johnson, who pulled off the feat in 2018.
With his competitive season all but finished, Scottie Scheffler came incredibly close to joining that list in 2025. He led the PGA Tour in scoring on par 4s with 3.89 average. He also led in par-5 scoring (4.44). As for par 3s, Scheffler is currently third at 2.98, just 0.02 shots behind tour leader Vince Whaley.
However, history could be made in the next month on the LPGA Tour. Jeeno Thitikul is 22 and quite simply, the best female player in golf right now. The native of Thailand is the No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and in the LPGA’s Race to the CME Globe point standings. In 2025, she is the one of just two players to win multiple titles on the LPGA Tour and also has four runner-up finishes.
Thitikul is also in contention for our golf triple crown. As Justin Ray pointed out on X this week, Thitikul leads the tour in par-3 (2.89) and par-4 scoring (3.92) and is just 0.01 shots out of the lead in par-5 scoring (4.57). Three players are currently averaging 4.56 shots per par-5 on the LPGA Tour: Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko and Sei Young Kim.
LPGA Tour scoring data only goes back to 1992, and in that time, only two players have ever led the tour in scoring on par 3s, 4s and 5s. Annika Sorenstam did it in 2002, 2004 and 2005, and Lorena Ochoa did in 2008.
Alex Slitz
Thitikul is not playing in this week’s Toto Japan Classic. If she were to tee it up in the final two LPGA events of the season—The Annika and the CME Group Tour Championship—she would play 24 more par 5s. To drop her average by 0.01 shots, she would need to play those holes in 13 under par, or average 4.46.
If she does that, there’s a good chance she could win the (unofficial) triple crown in the women’s game—and pull off one of the rarest achievements in the sport.
Alex Slitz
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
