Tag: LPGA Player of the Year

All the LPGA Players of the Year winners, from Kathy Whitworth to Nelly Korda

In 2024, Nelly Korda won the award for the first time.

While the PGA Tour uses a vote, the LPGA has always favored a points system for its Rolex Player of the Year award. Introduced in 1966, Kathy Whitworth dominated the trophy in its infancy, winning seven times in the first eight years. From 1995 to 2005, Annika Sorenstam won it eight times. In 2024, Nelly Korda won the award for the first time.

Players must finish in the top 10 of official LPGA events to earn points, which are doubled at major championships.

Here’s the complete list of Rolex Player of the Year winners:

Year Player
1966 Kathy Whitworth
1967 Kathy Whitworth
1968 Kathy Whitworth
1969 Kathy Whitworth
1970 Sandra Haynie
1971 Kathy Whitworth
1972 Kathy Whitworth
1973 Kathy Whitworth
1974 JoAnne Carner
1975 Sandra Palmer
1976 Judy Rankin
1977 Judy Rankin
1978 Nancy Lopez
1979 Nancy Lopez
1980 Beth Daniel
1981 JoAnne Carner
1982 JoAnne Carner
1983 Patty Sheehan
1984 Betsy King
1985 Nancy Lopez
1986 Pat Bradley
1987 Ayako Okamoto
1988 Nancy Lopez
1989 Betsy King
1990 Beth Daniel
1991 Pat Bradley
1992 Dottie Mochrie
1993 Betsy King
1994 Beth Daniel
1995 Annika Sorenstam
1996 Laura Davies
1997 Annika Sorenstam
1998 Annika Sorenstam
1999 Karrie Webb
2000 Karrie Webb
2001 Annika Sorenstam
2002 Annika Sorenstam
2003 Annika Sorenstam
2004 Annika Sorenstam
2005 Annika Sorenstam
2006 Lorena Ochoa
2007 Lorena Ochoa
2008 Lorena Ochoa
2009 Lorena Ochoa
2010 Yani Tseng
2011 Yani Tseng
2012 Stacy Lewis
2013 Inbee Park
2014 Stacy Lewis
2015 Lydia Ko
2016 Ariya Jutanugarn
2017 Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu
2018 Ariya Jutanugarn
2019 Jin Young Ko
2020 Sei Young Kim
2021 Jin Young Ko
2022 Lydia Ko
2023 Lilia Vu
2024 Nelly Korda

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Nelly Korda earns first LPGA Player of the Year title with three events remaining

Korda’s historic season included six victories in her first eight starts.

Nelly Korda’s season isn’t over yet, but the LPGA announced Monday the World No. 1 has already clinched the Rolex Player of the Year award. Korda’s historic season, which included six victories in her first eight starts to 2024, makes her the 27th different player to win the award since its inception in 1966.

The Player of the Year award comes with an LPGA Hall of Fame point, bringing 26-year-old Korda to 18 of the 27 needed to qualify.

“Winning the Rolex Player of the Year means so much to me,” Korda said in a 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.”

Nelly Korda celebrates after winning the 2024 Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Korda follows in the footsteps of No. 2 Lilia Vu, who won the award last year. It marks the first time that Americans have won back-to-back Player of the Year titles since Betsy King (1993) and Beth Daniel (1994).

Players accrue points in the POY race for top-10 finishes only. Korda has nine top-10s in 14 starts this season. Ayaka Furue had to win last week’s Toto Japan Classic and then sweep all remaining events for a chance to tie Korda.

Korda, the 2024 Chevron Championship winner, also clinched the Rolex Annika Major Award after her runner-up finish to Lydia Ko at the AIG Women’s British Open. She will accept both honors on Nov. 20 at the Rolex LPGA Awards ceremony during the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida.

Korda hasn’t played since the Kroger Queen City Championship in September, withdrawing from the tour’s fall Asian swing with a minor neck injury. She was cleared by her doctor to begin practicing last week, posting the update on her social media accounts.

She’s scheduled to compete next at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican in Belleair, Florida, Nov. 14-17, where she’s a two-time winner. Korda will then conclude her eighth official LPGA season at the CME before playing in two more unofficial events – the Grant Thornton Invitational and PNC Championship – in December.

Nichols: Lydia Ko’s Olympic gold should count toward LPGA Player of the Year race

If a gold medal is worth an LPGA Hall of Fame point, surely it’s also worth some Player of the Year points.

Lydia Ko’s magical run of late has been so dominant, one can’t help but wonder if she could possibly edge Nelly Korda for LPGA Rolex Player of the Year honors.

Korda won six of seven starts in the first half of the season and looked like a runaway for POY honors. But shouldn’t three LPGA titles, including a major, and an Olympic gold medal put Ko somewhere close?

Well, not really.

Ko actually trails Korda by 100 points in the POY race with a limited number of starts left to the season. (This week she’s competing on the KLPGA, which doesn’t count toward the race.)

Points are given for top-10 finishes only and are doubled at the majors. A victory at a regular event is worth 30 points, while it’s 60 points for a major.

Ko would have to win three more times this season plus post an additional second-place finish to have a chance. That’s if Korda fails to earn more points.

The Olympics isn’t factored into the POY race but given that Ko’s gold medal-winning performance in Paris is what got her into the LPGA Hall of Fame, that’s a bit of a headscratcher.

If a gold medal is worth an LPGA Hall of Fame point, surely it’s also worth some Player of the Year points.

2021 Olympics
Nelly Korda of the United States celebrates with the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

In 2021, Nelly Korda won four times on the LPGA, including the KPMG Women’s PGA, as well as Olympic gold in Toyko but was edged out in the POY race by Jin Young Ko.

South Korea’s Ko won five times on the LPGA that season (no majors) and took the POY based on the strength of 13 top 10s. She beat Korda by 14 points. Had Korda earned 30 points for her gold-medal performance though, she would’ve taken the honor.

Now that Ko is already in the LPGA Hall of Fame, which requires 27 points, it’s not likely that she’ll be too worried about the POY this year. But going forward, the Olympics should absolutely factor into the totality of an LPGA season.

The points system is designed to take emotion and bias out of the equation, and that’s fine. It’s hard to argue with math. But if it’s going to come down to numbers, then it’s imperative that the points structure reflects the current landscape.

There’s plenty of time to get this fixed before 2028.