Nelly Korda wins 2nd Player of Year, one point from Hall of Fame

Nelly Korda has done it again.

The world No. 1 has clinched her second Rolex Player of the Year award in three years.

The announcement came Tuesday, with two events still left on the LPGA schedule.

Korda finished the points race with 239 points, far ahead of the competition.

Haeran Ryu finished second with 176 points.

Miyu Yamashita finished third with 156 points.

Jeeno Thitikul finished fourth with 155 points.

The award is points-based, awarded by the LPGA.

Korda won it by building an insurmountable lead during the first eight months of the season.

She won four times in 2026, including two majors.

Her first win came at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida.

That event was cut to 54 holes because of bitter cold and wind.

She followed that with back-to-back major championships.

She won the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

The U.S. Women’s Open was her signature moment of the season.

She sealed the victory in dramatic fashion on the 18th hole at Riviera.

“You just never know,” Korda said after that win in June.

“It’s golf. Like on the last hole here, I was humbled by golf there. I had a pretty smooth day and on the last hole just kind of like humbles you a little bit.”

After that win, Korda spoke about taking time off to “smell the roses for a few days.”

Instead, she flew across the country to do a media tour in New York City.

She later found a longer break after representing the U.S. at the 2026 Solheim Cup in the Netherlands.

She has not played a round of competitive golf since the Solheim Cup.

That extended break ends next week at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Golf Club in Florida.

Her fall schedule also includes the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples.

Korda might have had to wait another week to clinch Player of the Year — and return to the course — had it not been for an injury to Haeran Ryu.

Ryu, a South Korean native and two-time major winner in 2026, withdrew from the Maybank Championship in Malaysia due to a strained ligament in her finger.

That withdrawal ended her chances of catching Korda in the points race.

Further helping Korda were the decisions by Miyu Yamashita and Jeeno Thitikul not to enter The Annika next week in Florida.

That left both players mathematically unable to catch Korda.

Thitikul entered the year as the world’s top-ranked player.

She also won four times this year, but she is still searching for her first major.

Korda’s season was so dominant that she wrapped up the award with three tournaments remaining — something she also did when she won the award in 2024.

She skipped the entire four-week Asia swing, as she often does.

The 28-year-old American plans to play the final two weeks in Florida.

Those two tournaments — The Annika and the CME Group Tour Championship — suddenly carry extra meaning.

The Player of the Year award gives Korda her 27th LPGA Hall of Fame point.

She now sits just one win away from securing the sport’s biggest honor.

To qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, players must earn 27 points.

Points are awarded for wins, major championships, Player of the Year awards, and other achievements.

Korda could get the final point by winning either of the next two tournaments.

“I think it’s an amazing accomplishment,” Korda said of her Hall of Fame prospects.

“It would be one of the best achievements of my career for sure.”

Korda would not be the youngest player to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Inbee Park reached the requirements when she was 27.

Park was also a finalist this year for the World Golf Hall of Fame, which is separate from the LPGA Hall of Fame.

The World Golf Hall of Fame includes players and contributors from around the world selected by a panel of administrators, Hall of Fame members, and media.

Korda’s season began with a remarkable streak.

She won the Tournament of Champions in Orlando, which was shortened to 54 holes because of cold and wind.