World No. 1 Nelly Korda One Point Shy of Hall of Fame

World No. 1 Nelly Korda is chasing history at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, Nov. 11-15.

She is one point shy of becoming eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

A victory this week would earn that final point.

Korda has already won this event three times.

No LPGA professional has won the same tournament four times since Annika Sörenstam did it in 2005.

Sörenstam is the tournament's namesake.

With a win, Korda would become the first player in LPGA history to win a single tournament at least four times in seven appearances.

The 108-player field at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, is one of the strongest in the event's seven-year history.

Fourteen of the top-25 players in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings are entered.

That list includes No. 3 Haeran Ryu, No. 7 Lottie Woad, No. 8 Charley Hull, No. 9 Sei Young Kim, No. 12 Brooke Henderson, No. 14 Gaby Lopez, No. 15 Ina Yoon, No. 16 Hye-Jin Choi, No. 18 Aki Iwai, No. 20 Lauren Coughlin, No. 22 Mao Saigo, No. 24 Auston Kim and No. 25 Esther Henseleit.

All four past champions are in the field: defending champion Linn Grant, three-time champion Korda, 2023 champion Lilia Vu and 2020 champion Kim.

The purse is $3.25 million, one of the largest on the LPGA Tour outside of major championships.

Korda clinched the 2026 Rolex Player of the Year award on Tuesday, her second such honor in three years.

She finished with 239 points in the points-based race.

Haeran Ryu was second with 176 points but withdrew from the Maybank Championship in Malaysia due to injury.

Miyu Yamashita (156 points) and Jeeno Thitikul (155 points) did not enter The ANNIKA, making it mathematically impossible for either to catch Korda.

Korda wrapped up the award with three tournaments still on the schedule — she also did that when she won in 2024.

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

The 28-year-old American from Bradenton, Florida, plans to play the final two weeks in Florida: The ANNIKA and the CME Group Tour Championship.

Both now carry extra weight.

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

She needs 27 points to become eligible.

One more win — at either of the next two tournaments — would secure entry.

“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, a separate institution that selects players and contributors from around the world through a panel of administrators, Hall of Fame members and media.