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Nelly Korda
American professional golfer (born 1998) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nelly Korda (born July 28, 1998) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. She is a two-time major winner, claiming victories at both the 2021 Women's PGA Championship and the 2024 Chevron Championship. In total, she has won 20 professional titles, including 15 on the LPGA Tour, and she was a gold medalist at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She has spent over 100 weeks as number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings, and in both 2021 and 2024 she finished as year-end number one. She has represented the United States at four Solheim Cups, and was on the winning team in 2024.
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Korda turned professional in 2016 and she won her first professional tournament at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge the same year. She began playing on the LPGA Tour in 2017, and she won her first LPGA event in 2018 at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship. In 2019, she triumphed at the Women's Australian Open, and she subsequently entered the top-10 of the world rankings for the first time. Korda won further LPGA titles, and in 2021, she claimed her first major with victory at the 2021 Women's PGA Championship, with her victory also taking her to world number one. At the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, she became the first American female golfer to win individual gold at an Olympic Games since 1900. In 2024, Korda became the third player to have won five consecutive tournaments on the LPGA Tour, and this run culminated with her second win in a major: the 2024 Chevron Championship. In September that year, she also helped the United States to victory at the Solheim Cup, and finished the year with seven individual LPGA titles, before being named LPGA Tour Player of the Year.
Korda is from a family of professional athletes. Her father Petr was a tennis player who won the 1998 Australian Open, her younger brother Sebastian is a professional tennis player, and her older sister Jessica is a professional golfer. In 2018, Nelly Korda's maiden LPGA Tour victory meant that she and Jessica became the third pair of sisters to have both claimed victory in LPGA Tour events, and in 2019, they became the first sisters to play as a pairing in a Solheim Cup match.
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Amateur career
Korda trained at the IMG Academy in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida.[3] At the age of 14, she made the cut at the 2013 U.S. Women's Open, and eventually finished T64th.[4] The following year, she was triumphant at the Kathy Whitworth Invitational, and she was also given an invitation to compete at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship as one of nine amateur players in the field.[5] In January 2015, she sealed victory at the Harder Hall Invitational, despite being penalized two penalty strokes on the first hole for using a caddie, which was prohibited at the event.[6] During 2015, she also claimed victory at the Yani Tseng Invitational, and finished runner-up at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship.[7] Korda was then selected to represent the United States in the 2015 Junior Solheim Cup at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot, Germany. There, the United States won 13–11, to become the first team to win the tournament away from home.[8] In October, she won the PING Invitational, which moved her into the top-10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking,[9] and she was also a 2015 AJGA Rolex Junior All-American.[7]
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Professional career
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Korda began her professional career in 2016 on the Symetra Tour, where she won her first professional event at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge. There, she finished three-strokes ahead of runner-up Wichanee Meechai.[10] After a T6th finish at the Symetra Tour Championship, she ended the season 9th on the Symetra Tour money list, which earned her an LPGA Tour card for 2017.[11] Korda made her LPGA Tour debut at the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic in 2017, where she finished T5th. Later in the year, she arrived at the season ending 2017 CME Group Tour Championship in 51st place on the LPGA Tour official money list and admitted that she had "struggled" with all the traveling during the year. At the CME Group Tour Championship, she ended her season with a T8th finish.[12][13]
2018: First LPGA Tour win
At the beginning of 2018, Korda appointed Jason McDede as her caddie.[14] In March, she finished runner-up at the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore. She missed an eight-foot putt on the final hole which would have forced a play-off with Michelle Wie.[15] Korda also recorded a top-10 finish at the U.S. Women's Open in June, finishing in a tie for tenth place.[16] On October 28, 2018, she secured a two-stroke victory at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship in Taoyuan, Taiwan, to seal her maiden LPGA Tour title.[17] The win made her and her sister Jessica Korda the third pair of sisters to have claimed LPGA Tour titles, joining Moriya Jutanugarn and Ariya Jutanugarn, along with Charlotta and Annika Sörenstam.[18] At the end of the year, she finished runner-up at the CME Group Tour Championship.[19][20] Korda recorded a total of seven top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour in 2018.[2]
2019−2020: Continued success
After finishing 3rd at the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions,[21] Korda then won the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open in February. She won the tournament by a two-stroke margin over Ko Jin-young.[22] In doing so, she completed a "Family Slam" in Australia. Her father, Petr, won the 1998 Australian Open singles in tennis. Her older sister, Jessica, won the Women's Australian Open golf tournament in 2012, and her younger brother, Sebastian, won the 2018 Australian Open Boys' singles in tennis.[23] Following this victory, Korda broke into the top-10 of the Women's World Golf Rankings, moving up from 16th to 9th, and becoming the second highest ranked American in the world, behind 5th ranked Lexi Thompson.[24] At majors, she recorded a T3rd place finish at the Women's PGA Championship[25] and a T9th finish at the Women's British Open.[26]
Korda made her Solheim Cup debut in 2019 at Gleneagles, Scotland. She made history in the day one foursomes with Jessica Korda, when they became the first sisters to be playing partners in the history of the competition. They beat Caroline Masson and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, 6 and 4, on the first day and followed this up by defeating Carlota Ciganda and Bronte Law, 6 and 5, on the second day. Korda then triumphed over Caroline Hedwall, 2 up, in the singles to complete the tournament with an unbeaten 3–0–1 (win–loss–tie) record. Despite her own success, USA suffered an overall 13.5–14.5 defeat to Europe.[27][28]
In September, Korda finished runner-up at the Hanwha Classic,[29] but she then shot a four-under-par 67 in the final round to win the Lacoste Ladies Open de France by eight-shots, thus recording her first victory in a Ladies European Tour event.[30] In November, she defended her title at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship. The tournament concluded with a 3-way playoff, in which Korda overcame Minjee Lee and Masson to claim victory.[31] At the CME Group Tour Championship, she finished in T3rd position.[32] In 2019, Korda recorded twelve top-10 finishes on the LPGA Tour.[2]
In March, 2020, the LPGA suspended competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[33] The LPGA Tour resumed later in the year, and Korda finished T3rd at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship in August,[34] before coming close to winning her first major championship at the ANA Inspiration the following month. There, she reached a three-way playoff with Mirim Lee and Brooke Henderson, but it was Lee who won the trophy on the first extra-hole.[35] She also finished 5th at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in October.[36]
2021: Breakout year: 4 wins, first major win, Olympic gold, #1 world ranking
In February, Korda won the Gainbridge LPGA by a three-shot margin at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida.[37] She finished T3rd at the ANA Inspiration in April, seven strokes behind Patty Tavatanakit.[38] She then won the Meijer LPGA Classic in June, becoming the first two-time winner on the LPGA Tour for the year. Her tournament included a career best 62, carded in the third round.[39] Later that month, Korda won her first major at the 2021 Women's PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia. In the final round, she shot a four-under-par 68 and won by three strokes over Lizette Salas. With the victory, she also became the number one ranked player in the world. Korda said "A major championship and No. 1 in the world. Is this week even real? It's amazing." She finished the tournament with a score of 19-under-par, which equaled the tournament's lowest ever score set by Inbee Park in 2015.[40][41]
Korda then competed for the United States at the delayed Summer Olympics in Japan. During her second round, she reached the 18th tee at 11-under-par for her round. A birdie on the final hole would have carded her a 59 but she double-bogeyed the hole for a 62. Two days later, she won the gold medal, and became just the second female golfer from the United States to achieve the feat, and the first since Margaret Abbott at the 1900 Olympic Games.[42][43] Korda represented the United States again at the 2021 Solheim Cup in Toledo, Ohio. She finished the event with a 2–2–0 record, which included a 1 up victory over Georgia Hall in the singles, but USA would lose 13–15 overall.[44]
After Ko Jin-young won the BMW Ladies Championship in October, Korda fell to number two in the world rankings,[45][46] but she regained the number one spot in November.[47] This was despite neither player competing in tournaments between those dates, because the rankings are taken over a two-year rolling average.[48][49] Korda then won the Pelican Women's Championship in Belleair, Florida. She shot a final round 69 and then won in a playoff against Thompson, Lydia Ko and Kim Sei-young. She reached the playoff despite scoring a triple-bogey seven on the par-4 17th hole. Korda made a birdie in the playoff to seal the victory, tying her with Ko Jin-young with four LPGA Tour wins in 2021.[50] Korda became the first American to win four times in an LPGA Tour season since Stacy Lewis in 2012.[51] She finished T5th in the CME Group Tour Championship, and finished the year as world number one.[52][53]
Korda had the lowest scoring average on tour (68.774) in her 62 rounds,[54] and she finished second on the money list ($2,382,198) to Ko Jin-young ($3,502,161).[55] Neither Korda or Ko Jin-young won the Vare Trophy for the lowest scoring average as they had not played the minimum 70 rounds, so Lydia Ko was awarded the trophy.[56]
2022: Blood clot, loss of world #1 ranking, re-gains #1 world ranking
On January 3, 2022, Korda surpassed the record for the most consecutive weeks as world number one by an American, which had been held by Lewis who was number one for 21 straight weeks.[57] Three weeks later at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio, she tied for 20th place and lost the number one spot after 29 consecutive weeks at the top.[58][59] In March, she announced that she had a blood clot in her arm, so she would not compete in the Chevron Championship, the year's first major.[60] Following surgery, Korda returned to play at the U.S. Women's Open in June,[61] where she finished T8th.[62] Later in the month, at the Meijer LPGA Classic, she reached a three-way playoff but missed out on the title to Jennifer Kupcho, with Korda being eliminated from the playoff after the first extra-hole.[63] She also recorded a T8th place finish at the Evian Championship in July,[64] and she finished in a tie for second position at the Canadian Women's Open in August.[65]
In November, Korda successfully defended her title at the Pelican Women's Championship, her first victory of the year, and she subsequently returned to the top of the world rankings.[66] She did not hold the position for long as Lydia Ko regained the number one spot two weeks later.[67] Later that month, at the CME Group Tour Championship, Korda finished in a tie for tenth place, her eighth top-10 finish on the LPGA Tour for the year.[68][2]
2023
In January, Korda signed a deal with TaylorMade and Nike.[69][70] Later in the year, she signed with Delta Air Lines.[71] She also joined fellow golfer Tony Finau on the T-Mobile US sponsored players list.[72]
With her fourth-place finish at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January, Korda jumped three places from 40th to 37th on the career money list to $7,638,934, passing her sister Jessica, ranked 39th at $7,543,454; Nelly had played 110 tournaments to Jessica's 227.[73] In February, she finished T6th at the Honda LPGA Thailand,[74] and she finished runner-up at the HSBC Women's World Championship in March, ending the competition two-strokes behind Ko Jin-young.[75] Then, after finishing third at the Chevron Championship in April, she regained the number one world ranking.[76][77] At the beginning of May, Korda represented the United States at the International Crown. The United States team made it to the semi-finals, in which they suffered a defeat to Thailand.[78] Later in May, she announced that she would miss several tournaments because of back pain.[79] In July, she won the Aramco Team Series at the Centurion Club near London; it was her 13th tournament victory and her third on the Ladies European Tour.[80] She then finished T9th at the Evian Championship later in the month.[81]
At the 2023 Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin in Casares, Andalusia, Korda finished with a 2–2–0 record. Europe and the United States finished the event tied on 14 points, resulting in Europe retaining the trophy. Korda won two matches partnering Allisen Corpuz in the foursomes but lost her singles match, 2 and 1, to Ciganda, as well as a fourballs match playing alongside Ally Ewing.[82][83]
2024: Return to #1, 5 consecutive starting wins and total 7 wins, second major title, LPGA Tour Player of the Year
In January, Korda won her ninth LPGA Tour event, at the LPGA Drive On Championship in her hometown of Braderton. Trailing by three strokes after the 16th hole of the final round, she had an eagle-birdie finish to force a playoff with Lydia Ko. Korda then won on the second extra hole with a four-foot par putt after Ko had missed a five-foot putt. It was the first tournament that she had won after leading at the end of each round.[84] She then won three further consecutive events in March and April: Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship (moving back to the top of the Women's World Golf Rankings),[85] the Ford Championship,[86] and the T-Mobile Match Play. At the Match Play, she overcame Leona Maguire, 4 and 3, in the final. Her four straight tournament wins from four starts made her the first player to achieve this feat since Lorena Ochoa in 2008.[87]
Korda continued her successful start to the year with a fifth consecutive victory, and her second major title, at the 2024 Chevron Championship, scoring a 275 (−13, 68-69-69-69) to win by a two-stroke margin over Maja Stark. Only Annika Sörenstam (2004–2005) and Nancy Lopez (1978) had won five consecutive starts before Korda became the third LPGA player to achieve the feat.[88] She withdrew from the next tournament, the JM Eagle LA Championship, choosing to rest and not be worn out mentally.[89] In May, Korda won the Mizuho Americas Open, her sixth win in seven starts. She finished the event 14-under-par, edging out Hannah Green to claim the victory.[90]
At the Women's British Open, Korda held a two-stroke lead during the final round, but dropped shots cost her and she finished T3rd, two strokes behind the champion Lydia Ko.[91] She was unable to successfully defend her Olympic title at the 2024 Summer Olympics, finishing the event one-under-par, six-strokes adrift of the bronze medal position.[92] Korda was then part of the United States team that defeated Europe 15.5–12.5 in the 2024 Solheim Cup at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. Korda won three of her four matches, with her only defeat coming in the final-day singles where she was defeated 6 and 4 by Charley Hull. Korda finished with a 3–1–0 record in the tournament.[93]
In November, she won The Annika, to claim her seventh LPGA title of the year.[94][95] She clinched the LPGA Tour Player of the Year award with three tournaments remaining on the schedule, after claiming seven victories and three additional top-10 finishes. She was the first player to win seven LPGA Tour events in a single year since Yani Tseng achieved the feat in 2011.[96][97][98] She also won the Rolex Annika Major Award.[99][100]
2025
Korda finished runner-up at the Tournament of Champions in February, two strokes behind winner Kim A-lim.[101] The following week, she finished T7th at the LPGA Founders Cup,[102] and she later finished T2nd at the U.S. Women's Open, two strokes behind Stark.[103] In June, Korda reached the landmark of 100 career weeks as world number one, the sixth female player to reach this milestone.[104] In July, she posted a fifth place finish at the Women's Scottish Open.[105] Without a win in 2025, and following a T36th place finish at the Women's British Open in August, Korda lost her world number one ranking to Atthaya Thitikul, a position that she had held for 71 consecutive weeks.[106]
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Personal life
Korda is the daughter of retired Czech professional tennis players Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtová.[107] Her father is a tennis grand slam champion who won the 1998 Australian Open crown. Her younger brother, Sebastian, won the 2018 Australian Open Boys' Singles tennis title. Her older sister, Jessica Korda, is a professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.[2]
Since 2019, Korda has been in a relationship with professional ice hockey player Andreas Athanasiou.[108]
In 2021, Korda made the Forbes 30 under 30 list for earners under the age of 30, placed 23.[109] In 2024, Korda was named by Sportico as the 8th highest earning female athlete in the world, with earnings of $14.4m across both prize money and endorsements.[110]
The American Junior Golf Association named a junior tournament after her: The Nelly Invitational is held at the Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.[111]
Korda made a cameo appearance in the 2025 sports comedy film Happy Gilmore 2. She played the role of a doctor.[112]
Amateur wins
Professional wins (20)
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LPGA Tour wins (15)
LPGA Tour playoff record (4–2)
Ladies European Tour wins (3)
Symetra Tour wins (1)
Other wins (1)
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Major championships
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Wins (2)
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order.
Win
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
NT = no tournament
T = tied
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (twice)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (13 times)
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LPGA Tour career summary
^ Official as of 2024 season[113][114][115]
* Includes matchplay and other tournaments without a cut.
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World ranking
Position in Women's World Golf Rankings at the end of each calendar year.
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Junior Solheim Cup: 2015 (winners)
Professional
- Solheim Cup: 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024 (winners)
- International Crown: 2023
Solheim Cup record
See also
References
External links
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