Nelly Korda may be nursing a neck injury, but she still claimed a big career feat on Sunday.
The World No. 1 clinched LPGA Player of the Year. The award uses a points-based system, so it is mathematically impossible for anyone to catch Korda even with three events left this season.
“Winning the Rolex Player of the Year means so much to me,” Korda, 26, said in a press release. “This season has had its highs and challenges, and I’m just really grateful for the people around me who have helped me get here. It’s been a team effort, and I’m proud to share this moment with them.”
With Lilia Vu winning in 2023, this is the first time Americans have won the award in back-to-back years since Betsy King in 1993 and Beth Daniel in 1994.
Korda won six times this year, including the Chevron Championship, the season’s first major. She won five straight tournaments earlier this season, joining Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as the only LPGA players to do so. Korda’s run for six straight ended with a T7 at the Founders Cup, but she bounced back by winning the Mizuho Americas Open in her next start.
Scottie Scheffler, who also enjoyed a historic season, was in awe of Korda’s winning streak.
“One of the people here asked me, like, ‘Is this turning into a competition between you and Nelly?’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know, man, I think if it’s a competition, she’s got me pretty beat right now,’” Scheffler said earlier this season after winning the RBC Heritage. “Five wins in a row … it’s pretty special stuff. To win four times in a row and then show up at a major championship and win is extremely impressive. So I’m extremely happy for her.”
Korda’s success on the course translated to an increased profile off it, too. She attended the Met Gala in May and will appear in the 2025 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Meanwhile, despite her ailing neck, she is slated to return at the Annika on Nov. 14 in Florida and play in the pro-am with WNBA star Caitlin Clark. Korda will then try to win the season-long Race to CME Globe the following week.
