Nelly Korda needs no introduction. She is the 2024 LPGA Player of the Year, a 15-time winner on tour, two-time major champion and Olympic Gold Medalist. She won seven times last year including a major, vaulting herself to the biggest superstar the LPGA has seen in a long time.
It is really difficult to win LPGA Tour Player of the Year two times in a row. Yani Tseng was the last to do it in 2010 and 2011. Korda is still, almost without question, the best player in the world. That being said, her 2024 season will be really tough to duplicate.
When Korda putts well, she is unbeatable. Throughout much of 2024, she was putting better than she ever has. Korda ranked No. 25 in strokes gained putting, which is a number that if she can match, she will win this award again. An argument could be made that Korda is the best driver of the golf ball in the world and the best chipper of the ball as well. She led the tour in strokes gained driving in 2024 and was third in strokes gained around the green. She ranked No. 5 overall in strokes gained tee-to-green and No. 1 in strokes gained total.
Korda’s mental game is also about as strong as anyone. She showed how consistently she can finish out golf tournaments and win in a variety of ways. She won from the lead, she came from behind, she won in playoffs, she won in match play. She won in rain, she won in the wind, she won in perfect conditions. She won on the west coast, and she won on the east coast. She won in the desert and she won in the swamp.
Some inconsistency marred the middle of Korda’s season, with disastrous moments at both the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Yet she fought through those struggles to get a late season win and a runner-up finish at the AIG Women’s Open.
Why is Korda at No. 2 instead of No. 1? Not because of anything in her game, but because it is difficult to repeat a historic season, and there is one young superstar who may have her time to shine.
