NAPLES, Fla. — Nelly Korda won five events in a row early in 2024, seven overall. She clinched the LPGA Player of the Year with three tournaments remaining, was a member of the winning U.S. Solheim Cup team and captured her second major.
At the age of 26, she cracked the top 20 in career earnings and took home just shy of $4.4 million this year.
Oh, and she was the subject of a photo shoot for the Sports Illustrated 2025 Swimsuit edition and played in a pro-am with basketball superstar Caitlin Clark.
But when asked for a favorite moment from 2024, on or off the course, all of that was secondary.
“Becoming an aunt to little Greyson would be my favorite, obviously off the golf course,” she said.
CME Group Tour Championship: Leaderboard | Photos
Greyson is the 9-month-old son of Korda’s sister, Jessica, and her husband, Johnny DelPrete, who live in Jupiter.
Jessica is a six-time winner on the LPGA Tour who has been top 10 in the world. But in the Korda family, that’s dinner table conversation with dad Petr, a former world No. 2 in men’s tennis, and brother Sebastian, currently No. 23 in Men’s Tennis ATP Rankings.
And, of course, Nelly, who has held the top spot in the Rolex Rankings for the last eight months.
Nelly Korda ‘such a good auntie’ to Jessica’s son
Jessica, 31, calls Nelly “such a good auntie.” Her praise was even more effusive when asked about her sister’s season.
“It’s insane, it’s not normal,” Jessica said while following Nelly for her final round of the LPGA season Sunday at the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon. “It’s stupid. It’s insanity. Especially … five in a row, four in a row that was literally four weeks in a row. It’s so mentally draining and physically draining the fact she was able to play at that high of a level for that many weeks and come out with wins it’s insane.”
Korda could not quite make it No. 8 on the year, finishing with a 15-under 273 after a 66 Sunday but that does not in any way diminish one of the more memorable seasons in LPGA history.
The historic run started in the season’s second event. From the LPGA Drive On Championship to the season’s first major, the Chevron Championship, Korda won five in a row. After a blip (T-7 at the Cognizant Founders Cup) she raised another trophy at the Mizuho Americas Open.
Six wins in seven starts with a combined 75-under par.
A ‘crazy year’ that had many highs, a few lows
Among the most dominating stretches we’ve seen … men or women.
“It’s been a crazy year,” she said. “I’m grateful for all of it. I am grateful for the highs; grateful for the lows; grateful to be doing what I love in front of people hopefully inspiring the next generation.”
And there were some lows.
Korda’s seventh win came at The Annika, at Pelican Golf Club, outside of Tampa and close to her home in Bradenton, her first start in about two months because of a neck injury that forced her to miss LPGA’s fall Asia swing.
And she missed the cut in three consecutive starts in late May and June. That was followed by getting bit in the leg by a dog while in a coffee shop in Seattle.
But those lows were not enough to drag down this season for the ages.
Nelly Korda can’t catch Jeeno Thitikul, who takes home record $4 million
Korda made her run on the second day at the CME, firing a bogey-free 66 and climbing into the top 10. Another bogey-free 66 Sunday was not enough to catch Jeeno Thitikul, who finished 22-under to win the record $4 million first-place prize.
The CME winner was virtually guaranteed of setting the LPGA record for prize money. Thitikul ended with just less than $6.1 million.
Korda was No. 2 for the season, which is No. 2 on the all-time season list.
“I would be lying if I said that I had my A-game or B-game this week,” Korda said. “Last week, I played so well and then this week it’s like, where is the center of the face?
“I’m happy with the way I fought back, took my chances where I could, where I couldn’t. I just played safe.”
And she is not through. Many more records will fall, barring injury (and freak run-ins with dogs in coffee shops), for one of the more dominating women athletes in the world.
“I love getting better,” she said. “I love just the game of golf and trying to excel and trying to contend. For me when people ask me how I stay motivated, it’s that trophy. At the end of the day it’s the trophy. At the end the week that’s what motivates me.”