Tag: Rolex ANNIKA Major Award

Nelly Korda wins Rolex ANNIKA Major Award as LPGA’s best at majors in 2024

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.

Minjee Lee wins Aon, collects another seven-figure check. She could enjoy richest season in LPGA history with strong week at CME

Minjee Lee could enjoy the richest season in the history of women’s golf.

NAPLES, Fla. – Minjee Lee collected her second seven-figure check of the season after winning the 2022 Aon Risk Reward Challenge and the $1 million prize.

Seven-figure checks remain rare in women’s golf. This year, seven will be handed out, though the Aon prize is unofficial money.

Earlier this season, Lee, 26, won the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles for her second major title and a record-setting $1.8 million paycheck. A two-time winner this season, Lee currently tops the money list with $3,759,835.

Lee, who already clinched the Rolex Annika Major Award, could actually enjoy the richest season in the history of women’s golf, should she win this week’s $2 million prize at the CME Group Tour Championship. Actually, she could finish second ($687,000) and still beat Lorena Ochoa’s record of $4,354,994 set in 2007. Ochoa won seven times that season, including one major.

“I haven’t really had the time to go shopping yet,” said Lee when asked if she’d splurged. “Maybe this week.”

While Lee started the year off strong, she hasn’t had a top 10 since August. Currently No. 5 in the world, Lee sits one point behind Lydia Ko in the LPGA Player of the Year race, which carries the added bonus of a Hall of Fame point.

Lee played both events in Asia but skipped last week’s Pelican LPGA Championship. After such a strong start to 2022, Lee said she’s learning how to refresh.

“Probably the last few weeks, I haven’t really been quite on top of my game,” she said. “I was striking it so well come, what, like eight, nine months throughout the year. Probably didn’t hit it as well or putted it as well the last couple of weeks, but this is the last event of the season, of the LPGA season. I really want to do well.”

The Aon Risk Reward Challenge offers a $1 million prize to winners on both the LPGA and PGA Tours. Scottie Scheffler clinched the men’s race earlier this season.

One of the best ball-strikers on the LPGA, Lee has added length to her game in recent years, and she went for the green on the challenge holes 58 percent of the time compared to a tour average of 32 percent. The race tabulates the two best scores on the designated challenge holes from every participating event a player competes in. Players must compete in a minimum of 40 rounds throughout the season to qualify.

“It’s quite life-changing money that Aon puts up,” said Lee, “and it’s really great for the women’s tour and the LPGA. It’s a great opportunity for us on both tours just to be put on kind of the same plane.”

Lee is the second consecutive Aussie to win the title, following Hannah Green. Spain’s Carlota Ciganda won the first Aon race.

Jennifer Bell, Aon’s chief executive officer, North America, said she hopes what they’re doing to support the LPGA equally with the men’s tour will influence other firms to do the same.

“In order to make sure that we’re getting gender equity and making sure that we lift the LPGA Tour and the players up to get to the level of pay that they should, I always say, ‘What is your firm doing?'” said Bell.

“It’s interesting because it puts the pressure, so it’s more of an influence than anything. Hopefully it’s making a difference.”

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Patty Tavatanakit edges Nelly Korda by two points to win Rolex ANNIKA Major Award

Tavatanakit is the second player from Thailand to win, joining Ariya Jutanugarn in 2018.

Patty Tavatanakit started 2021’s major season with a bang, going wire-to-wire at the ANA Inspiration, and ended it with the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, given to the player with the best record in all five major championships.

Tavatanakit edged out Nelly Korda by two points thanks for a tie for fifth at the KPMG Women’s PGA and a tie for seventh at the AIG Women’s British Open. She’s the second player from Thailand to win, joining Ariya Jutanugarn in 2018. Other champions include Jin Young Ko (2019), So Yeon Ryu (2017), Lydia Ko (2016), Inbee Park (2015) and Michelle Wie West (2014).

The award will be presented to Tavatanakit at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida, in November. It was not given out in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Points for the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award were awarded at all five major championships in 2021 to competitors who finished among the top 10 and ties. To earn the award, a player must have also won at least one of the five majors. Yuka Saso (U.S. Women’s Open), Nelly Korda (KPMG Women’s PGA Championship), Minjee Lee (Amundi Evian Championship) and Anna Nordqvist (AIG Women’s Open) were the other players to qualify this season.

Korda ended the major championship season with a tie for 13th at Carnoustie and received no points.

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