“I’m currently resting and working with my team to get better.”
Nelly Korda will miss the fall Asian swing due to a minor neck injury, the World No. 1 has posted on social media. Korda noted that she sustained the injury while practicing. She was slated to compete in this week’s BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea as well as the Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
“I’m disappointed to miss these events and am especially sorry to my fans who were looking forward to seeing me play,” Korda wrote. “I’m currently resting and working with my team to get better. Thank you for all your support – it truly means the world to me!”
A six-time winner on tour this season, Korda currently leads the Rolex Player of the Year race by 100 points over Lydia Ko and, with six events left on tour this season, has nearly clinched the title. Ko would need to win three more times on tour this season and post an additional second place to have a chance to catch Korda. The Kiwi, however, is currently only signed up to play in three more events: BMW, The ANNIKA and CME Group Tour Championship.
A three-time winner on the LPGA this season, Ko’s golden victory at the Paris Olympics, which got her into the LPGA Hall of Fame, does not count toward the tour’s POY race.
The only other players who could potentially unseat Korda are Ayaka Furue and Haeran Ryu. Furue trails by 120 points and would need at least four more wins for a shot at catching Korda, while Ryu would need to win five events to have a chance. Points are awarded for top-10 finishes.
Korda could clinch it later this month while sitting at home on her couch.
Nelly Korda celebrates with the trophy after winning the 2024 Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. (Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
This isn’t the first injury to sideline Korda in what has been an historic but strange season. Earlier this year, she was sidelined after a dog bit her left thigh at a coffee shop in Seattle. The incident occurred one day after Korda carded a shocking 81 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee to miss her third consecutive cut.
The 26-year-old leads the tour in money with $3,676,930 and ranks second in the Vare Trophy race for lowest scoring average at 69.92, though Korda won’t be eligible for the award as she will fail to meet the minimum of 70 official rounds needed to be eligible. Thailand’s Jenno Thitikul currently leads the race with a 69.89 average.
Both the Vare Trophy and POY winners receive one LPGA Hall of Fame point. Korda currently has 17 of the 27 points needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall.
Korda’s next start will likely be The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Nov. 14-17 in Belleair, Florida. She won the event in 2021 and 2022.
This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.
The team atmosphere is over. Korda’s back to being the hunted with a target on her back.
MAINEVILLE, Ohio − Many LPGA golfers enjoy the change of pace that comes with team events on the tour.
Last week, World No. 1 Nelly Korda helped lead Team USA to its first Solheim Cup win since 2017. Korda may have cherished that title even more than the half-dozen wins she’s logged on the LPGA Tour this year.
“It’s very hard to compare the two. Maybe a little bit more fun, I would say,” Korda said. “It’s just so different having a teammate out there that you can have fun with and also rely on. It’s just a little bit less pressure and a lot more fun.”
A fatigued Korda took to the tee box at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Korda didn’t let a lack of sleep spiral into costly mistakes.
Korda, paired with reigning Kroger Queen City Championship winner Minjee Lee and Jeeno Thitikul, fired a bogey-free 67. She was perfect hitting fairways (14-for-14) and found 14-of-18 greens in regulation. Three of her five birdies came during a six-hole stretch. Her birdie on No. 18 gave her a 67, putting her two shots off the pace of leader Ashleigh Buhai.
Korda has made history this season as just the fourth player on tour to win six times before June, joining a trio of Hall-of-Famers in Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs and Lorena Ochoa. Now the 26-year-old American has to switch gears heading into this week during her first appearance in the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G.
The team atmosphere from last week’s triumph in Gainesville, Virginia, is over. She’s back to being the hunted with a target on her back.
“Hate all the girls again,” Korda joked on Wednesday when asked about the mindset switch when it’s back to individual stroke play.
LPGA golfer, Nelly Korda, putts on the 8th green during the 2024 Kroger Queen City Championships at TPC River Bend golf course in Maineville, Ohio, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. Korda, from Bradenton, Florida, finished the day with a 67 and -5.
Her LPGA rivals won’t turn from friend-to-foe completely. In reality, Korda has climbed to the top of the rankings by locking in. She’ll follow that same formula in Cincinnati.
“Just really have to be precise and diligent on hitting your targets and focusing on that,” Korda said. “Just go out and enjoy myself, play some good golf, stay in my bubble and take it a shot at a time.”
Cincinnati is quick turnaround for Solheim Cup competitors
The only thing that seemingly could stop Korda this week is jet lag.
It was a tough turnaround for the 11 Solheim Cup competitors making the trip to Maineville this week to TPC River’s Bend for the penultimate event on the current American leg of the LPGA Tour.
Add in a celebration Sunday night for the Solheim Cup victory and many of the world’s best are running on fumes to start the tournament.
“My energy levels are definitely running in the lower 50s,” Rose Zhang said. “Not only was last week really taxing on the mental part of the game, but we were also functioning on five, six hours of sleep every single day.”
Thankfully for Korda, she’s an avid coffee fan and doesn’t waste time sightseeing before events. She cut off celebrating the Solheim Cup early Sunday night, took a noon flight, got to Cincinnati around 2 p.m. on Monday, got to her rental house and chilled.
“I’ve spent a lot more time in my bed this week than normal. I try to conserve my energy a good bit,” Korda said. “I’ve just been resting.”
Fresh off the 2024 Solheim Cup, the LPGA is right back at it this week.
Fresh off the 2024 Solheim Cup, the LPGA is right back at it this week.
There will be 11 players competing in the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in Maineville, Ohio, outside Cincinnati.
Three of those – Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang – are from the winning American side, set to play just five days after hoisting the trophy.
“Gosh, it was such an unbelievable and crazy week,” Korda said. “It was just overall so much fun with our caddies, with the assistants, Stacy, the helpers, with the girls, too. That was my fourth Solheim Cup, and obviously it was sweeter to get the victory at the end of the week, but also such an amazing week with the girls.”
But now it’s back to LPGA competition where she’ll be battling her American teammates.
“Just hate all the girls again,” she quipped, which brought laughs to media center. “Coming out here and competing, doing what I love just gives me a little bit more energy boost.”
The eight Europeans in the field are Linn Grant, Georgia Hall, Esther Henseleit, Charley Hull, Leona Maguire, Anna Nordqvist, Madelene Sagstrom and Albane Valenzuela.
This is the third playing of the event but the first time that the Arnold Palmer-designed TPC River’s Bend is the host course following two years at Kenwood Country Club. It’s just the third time the LPGA has played a tournament at a TPC venue. Just last month, the inaugural FM Championship was at TPC Boston. The 2023 Hanwha Lifeplus International Crown was at TPC Harding Park.
Minjee Lee is the defending champion this week. She took down Charley Hull on the second playoff hole a year ago.
There are four sponsor exemptions in the event: Amari Avery, Gianna Clemente, Gabrielle Woods (who won the Div. II individual NCAA championship last season playing for Findlay) and Yana Wilson, a former No. 1-ranked player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
The Kroger is the first of the remaining nine events on the LPGA’s 2024 schedule.
A little luck can go a long way and Allisen Corpuz was a prime example of this adage during Saturday’s Solheim Cup.
A little luck can go a long way and Allisen Corpuz was a prime example of this adage during Saturday’s Solheim Cup when she topped a fairway wood but wound up with an eagle putt that gave her side the lead in a pivotal foursomes match with Emily Pedersen and Carlota Ciganda at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.
Corpuz, who was paired with star Nelly Korda, looked to avoid a lake on the par-5 14th hole, but still wanted to take a crack at the green. She took a full swing, then nearly lost her club in the follow-through, assuming the worst after she topped a shot that barely climbed 20 feet off the ground.
But instead of catastrophe, the ball stayed dry and then rolled through the green, curled up onto the fringe and rolled nicely to give Korda an eagle putt.
The world’s No. 1 player calmly drained the 25-footer to give the American team its first lead of the day, a critical sequence that led to their 1-up win in the match.
GAINESVILLE, Va. – The friendship of Nelly Korda and Megan Khang dates back to their Junior Solheim Cup days. They’ve been asking for this fourball pairing for some time and were buzzing after Stacy Lewis gave them the green light.
The pair brought back a special handshake inspired by Disney’s “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” for their Friday fourball match, where they thumped Leona Maguire and Georgia Hall, 6 and 4. Korda was having such a good time that she skipped her way out of the tunnel.
“There’s nothing like teaming up with one of your good friends and just vibing out there,” said Korda.
Megan Khang and Nelly Korda celebrate after winning their match by 6 and 4 against Georgia Hall and Leona Maguire during afternoon fourball matches ar the 2024 Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. (David Cannon/Getty Images)
Team USA jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the 19th Solheim Cup, where the Americans haven’t won since 2017.
In the morning session, world No. 1 Korda paired with Allisen Corpuz once again to defeat Esther Henseleit and Charley Hull, 3 and 2, in the first match out. Korda becomes the first American player to win two matches on Day 1 of a Solheim Cup, each by at least three holes.
Two European players have accomplished the feat: Carin Koch in 2002 (winning 3 and 2, 3 and 2) and Suzann Petterssen in 2003 (4 and 3, 3 and 2).
American rookies Sarah Schmelzel and Lauren Coughlin also went undefeated on Friday, pairing together for afternoon fourballs. They’re both out again Saturday morning with Schmelzel sticking with Lilia Vu and Coughlin now partnered with Lexi Thompson.
“I mean, I expected it, just knowing their personalities,” said Lewis of Schmelzel’s and Coughlin’s start. “They’re gritty. They’re fighters. That’s the reason they’re on their first Solheim Cup in their 30s.”
Lewis said she’ll look at tomorrow like the score is back to 0-0, with the pedal to the floor to add as many points to the board as possible. European captain Suzann Pettersen called Saturday’s task a “massive” undertaking.
Leona Maguire, who they affectionally call “MVP,” is once again sitting out Saturday’s morning session. While Maguire has nothing to prove to anyone, Pettersen said, her form just isn’t where it normally is this week.
“We’ve just got to come out tomorrow hungry,” said Pettersen. “I think the players need to feel some kind of a revenge to kind of feel like they can get some momentum going.”
Saturday morning Solheim Cup foursomes pairings
7:05 a.m. ET – Nelly Korda/Allisen Corpuz (USA) vs. Emily Pedersen/Carlota Ciganda (Europe)
7:17 a.m. ET – Ally Ewing/Jennifer Kupcho (USA) vs. Esther Henseleit/Charley Hull (Europe)
7:29 a.m. ET – Lexi Thompson/Lauren Coughlin (USA) vs. Maja Stark/Georgia Hall (Europe)
7:41 a.m. ET – Lilia Vu/Sarah Schmelzel (USA) vs. Anna Nordqvist/Celine Boutier (Europe)
No one was better in majors this year than World No. 1.
After earning a T-2 finish Sunday at the 2024 AIG Women’s Open, Nelly Korda won the 2024 Rolex ANNIKA Major Award. Earning her 12th career top-10 finish in a major championship, Korda becomes the third American to win the award since its inception in 2014, joining Michelle Wie West, who won the inaugural award, and Lilia Vu, who won last season.
The Rolex ANNIKA Major Award recognizes the player who has the most outstanding record in all five major championships during the LPGA season. Korda, the No. 1 player in the world, won the 2024 Chevron Championship to claim her second career major championship victory, following her 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship win, and continue a historic start to her 2024 season. Her win at The Chevron Championship was her fifth straight victory of the season, which tied the record held by LPGA Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez for most wins in consecutive starts.
The 26-year-old is the 10th different winner of Rolex Annika Major Award since it was established in 2014. She joins Michelle Wie West (2014), Inbee Park (2015), Lydia Ko (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), Jin Young Ko (2019), Patty Tavatanakit (2021), Minjee Lee (2022) and Lilia Vu (2023) as winners of the honor, which will be presented to Korda at the Rolex LPGA Awards during the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November.
The award was not given out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Points for Rolex ANNIKA Major Award are awarded at all five major championships to competitors who finish in the top 10. To earn the award, a player must have also won at least one of the five majors. Korda (The Chevron Championship), Amy Yang (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship), Ayaka Furue (Amundi Evian Championship), Yuka Saso (U.S. Women’s Open) and Lydia Ko (AIG Women’s Open) were the other players eligible for the award this season.
Heading into the year’s final major championship, the AIG Women’s Open, there were just 18 players who had a chance at earning the award, with Korda ultimately claiming the prize.
It was a disappointing day for America’s best as Team USA was shut out of the podium in Paris. With the top two players in the world on the three-player U.S. squad – plus Rose Zhang! – odds were high that someone would clinch a medal.
Alas, it wasn’t to be.
Zhang, who began the day two back of the lead, played in the final group alongside Lydia Ko and Morgane Meatraux but struggled to a closing 74 that included a double-bogey on the ninth, a par 5. Zhang led the Americans with a T-8 finish.
“Takes a lot of resilience to get the job done or to even be in contention,” said Zhang of her Olympic debut. “Really proud of how hard I fought, and I think there’s just a lot more coming and pretty excited for what I can work on and what I can improve on.”
Aug 10, 2024; Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France; Rose Zhang (USA) on no. 2 in the final round of women’s individual stroke play during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Le Golf National. Mandatory Credit: Katie Goodale-USA TODAY Sports
Korda made two bogeys and a double over the last five holes to card a 75. The 2021 gold medalist plummeted to a share of a 22nd.
“I think recently what’s been happening to me is I make a mistake and then I make another mistake on top of it,” said Korda.
“Needing to control that bit of it where I don’t compile all the mistakes, which that’s what I’ve been kind of doing recently.”
World No. 2 Lilia Vu had it going early in the week but took a nosedive as the week wore on. The two-time major winner closed with a 74 to finish tied for 36th.
Since the Olympics aren’t on an organized tour, many fans might not know what to expect.
Golf in the Summer Olympics might not quite rise to the level of importance of the major championships for either men or women professionals. After all, golf is still a relatively new sport in the Summer Games, and for many professional golfers, it simply adds complications to their schedules.
But for fans of the Olympics, or just fans of some of the top players in the world gathering for competition, Olympic golf is back. The men will play first in the Summer Games in Paris next week, with the women’s event the following week. Fans in Southern California can already look forward to the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, when golf will be played at historic Riviera Country Club.
But since the Olympics aren’t an event on an organized tour, and because the Summer Games come around once every four years, many golf fans might not know what to expect in the next two weeks. So here are a few things you need to know about golf in the Olympics:
The field
Brooke Mackenzie Henderson looks on at the 5th hole during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
The Olympics have 60 golfers in the field, both for men and women. The players are determined by the Official World Golf Rankings for men and the Rolex World Rankings for women. No country can have more than four golfers in the field in order to make the 60-player field more representative of the world.
So the top four Americans in the rankings when the field was closed – Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark – will play for the gold medal. This makes for a field that is not the strongest possible field – for instance U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau and world No. 8 Patrick Cantlay are not in the field – but one that allows the most countries to be represented. American women playing next week will be Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang.
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan tees off on the tenth hole during the final round of the men’s individual stroke play of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
A sticking point for some critics is that the format for Olympic golf is straightforward 72 holes of stroke play with no cut.
That tends to make the Olympics look like many other tournaments you might see week to week on any number of tours around the world. The top three players after 72 holes will receive the gold, silver and bronze medals.
The men’s event begins Thursday, Aug. 1 and the women’s event begins Aug. 8. There is already talk of a mixed team format being added for 2028.
Early morning preparations are made prior to the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 27, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Le Golf National is certainly no stranger to the best players in the world. It is the annual site of the French Open on the DP World Tour, a task it was specifically designed for in 1991.
In addition, it was the host of the 2018 Ryder Cup between the United States and Europe. It can measure up to 7,331 yards with a par of 72.
LIV golfers in the field
Poland’s Adrian Meronk tees off from the 1st tee in round 1 of the men’s golf individual stroke play during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Kasumigaseki Country Club. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images)
Since the Olympics uses the world ranking to determine its field, and LIV golfers can be ranked, then it makes sense that some LIV players will be in the Olympics.
After all, this isn’t a PGA Tour or DP World Tour event, but an event put together by the International Golf Federation.
In all, seven LIV golfers will be in the field, though that won’t include some big names like DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, who were eliminated by the rankings and the four-play rule for countries.
Nelly Korda of Team United States celebrates with the gold medal at the victory ceremony after the final round of the Women’s Individual Stroke Play on day fifteen of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Kasumigaseki Country Club on August 07, 2021 in Kawagoe, Japan. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
When the Olympics included golf once again in 2016 in Brazil, the winner was Justin Rose of England, with Henrik Stenson of Sweden taking the silver and Matt Kuchar of the United States taking the bronze.
Perhaps it says something that eight years later, none of the medalists in Rio de Janeiro are in the field in Paris.
Men’s medalists in Japan in 2020 (actually held in 2021 because of the pandemic) were Xander Schauffele with the gold, Rory Sabbatini, who represented Slovakia, with the silver and C.T. Pan of Taiwan winning a playoff for the bronze. Schauffele and Pan are back in the field in Paris.
In women’s golf, Inbee Park of South Korea, Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Shanshan Feng of China won gold, silver and bronze in Brazil, with only Ko back in the field this year. In 2020, Korda won the gold, Mone Iname of Japan took silver and Ko became the first two-time medal winner in the return of the sport to the Olympics with a bronze medal.
These Americans are back at the Olympics and looking for more gold.
With 39 gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the United States led all nations for the third straight Summer Games since 2012.
Though the total was Team USA’s lowest gold medal count since 2008, make no mistake, it’s still the team to beat in many competitions entering the 2024 Paris Olympics. You need not look further than the returning medalists looking to defend their titles.
That doesn’t include gold medalists from previous Olympics (Simon Biles!), which we won’t get to here. But below is a look at the 2021 gold medalists back for more this summer.
Men’s basketball 5×5
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Bam Adebayo
Devin Booker
Kevin Durant
Jrue Holiday
Jayson Tatum
Women’s basketball 5×5
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Napheesa Collier
Chelsea Gray
Brittney Griner
Jewell Loyd
Breanna Stewart
Diana Taurasi
A’ja Wilson
Canoe/kayak
Nevin Harrison (canoe sprint: women’s single 200m)
Cycling
Jennifer Valente (cycling track: women’s omnium)
Fencing
Lee Kiefer (women’s foil individual)
Golf
Nelly Korda
Xander Schauffele
Gymnastics
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Jade Carey (artistic gymnastics: floor exercise)
Suni Lee (artistic gymnastics: women’s all-around)
Nelly Korda won five straight events to start 2024, but recent struggles will put her to the test at Le Golf National.
For the Paris Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. We’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes in the 15 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Up next is Nelly Korda.
The hottest golfer in the world is headed to Paris to defend her Olympic gold.
Nelly Korda won her first women’s golf tournament at the Olympics when she took home a gold medal with a -17 score in Tokyo. In the three years since, the soon-to-be 26-year-old has played not just the best golf of her life, but some of the best golf the world has ever seen.
Korda is the odds-on favorite to stand atop the podium once more this summer. Here are five things to know about her as she preps for competition at Le Golf National.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
1. Korda started her 2024 season with a record-tying five straight LPGA victories
After four tournament wins in 2022, Korda struggled with back pain and failed to register a single victory in 2023. But some time off to heal primed her for one of the most dominant runs in the sport’s history.
Between January and May of 2024, Korda simply didn’t lose. She brought home titles in five events:
LPGA Drive On Championship
Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship
Ford Championship
T-Mobile Match Play
Chevron Championship
That tied Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez for the most consecutive wins in LPGA history. This streak ended when she withdrew from the JM Eagle LA Championship in order to rest.
Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
2. Korda has struggled in the months leading up to Paris
Korda won May’s Mizuho Americas Open, giving her six LPGA wins in her first seven events of 2024. However, she’s been unable to approach that pace since. She missed the cut in her following three tournaments — the first time that’s ever happened to her — reminding the world how fickle the game can be.
This included over-par nightmares at the U.S. Women’s Open (+10) and KPMG Women’s LPGA Championship (+6). She’d failed to crack 80 in two of those six competitive rounds and carded a 10 on a par three hole during the U.S. Women’s Open.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
3. Korda made the cut at the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open… when she was 14 years old
Korda will turn 26 on July 28, but she’s nearly a decade into her LPGA career. She turned pro in 2016, but not before an impressive amateur career. That included a 64th place finish at the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open, where a +6 score after the first two rounds made her that year’s youngest competitor to make the cut.
The Bradenton, Florida native skipped collegiate golf and played on the Symetra Tour, an LPGA feeder, in 2016. A top-10 season-long finish punched her LPGA pro card, and she’s been a staple of the top tour ever since.
Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
4. Korda has missed time due to various injuries in her career — most recently a dog bite
Korda’s health has been the biggest inhibitor to her success. A blood clot in her arm cost her several starts in 2022. She relinquished her world No. 1 ranking in 2023 after taking time away from the course to deal with a back issue.
That unfortunate injury luck has persisted. She withdrew from a tour event in London this summer, citing the need to recover from a dog bite. That wasn’t enough to derail her Olympic plans; she’s in the lineup for the Amundi Evian Championship in France two weeks before the Games begin.
Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
5. Korda’s gold medal defense begins August 7
Round 1: Wednesday, August 7
Round2: Thursday, August 8
Round 3: Friday, August 9
Round 4: Saturday, August 10
It will take place at Le Golf National, the same course that played host to the 2018 Ryder Cup.
