Nelly Korda holds the World No.1 position for 52 weeks straight in 2025. Despite having a winless season in 2025, Korda still stands at the top due to her stellar performance in 2024. Last year, she went on a winning spree, emerging victorious in five consecutive events, including her second major title, The Chevron Championship. However, there was a time when the world No. 1 thought of quitting golf.

Unlike most kids who like to simply play around with their peer groups, Nelly started playing golf at the age of six. She had lessons three to four times a week. She became determined to pursue a career in golf after representing her country in the Solheim Amateur Cup and playing the US Women’s Open. Being an adventurous person, what motivates her the most is the opportunity to travel and do what she loves simultaneously. However, with big dreams come greater responsibility; your doubts and fears creep in before you take the leap of faith. And Nelly also had her moments of doubts and fear, which she still does.

In an interview with Goldman Sachs, CEO David Solomon, Nelly opened up about her early career struggles, where she said, “There was a lot of hurdles, um, you know, from that age to 17, where I thought I had to quit golf. Because my back was so bad, like at the age of 15, from practicing so much in repetitive motions. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.” Then what pushed her to keep going, just one answer: Her family.

Korda has a unique family filled with sportspeople, so it’s not surprising that she chose a career in sports. Her father, Petr Korda, is a Grand Slam champion and ranked the World no.2 in 1998. Her mother Regina Rajchrtová, is also a tennis professional who represented Czechoslovakia at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The youngest of the siblings, Nelly’s brother Sebastian Korda, is also a tennis professional ranked under the ATP top 25. But her inspiration to choose golf is her big sister, Jessica Korda. Jessica turned pro in 2011, and she has 6 LPGA Tour wins, including the Australian Women’s Open in 2012.

She even sarcastically said how she would accompany her sister everywhere, “I was that little annoying sister, she had to take everywhere, she hated me for it, but now she loves it.” Nelly found her passion for golf teeing up along with her big sister. Nelly had just turned 15 when she made the cut for the Women’s US Open.  After a season of doubts and fears, she proved why she stands among the greats. She did not fall prey to her doubts and fears; instead shifted her focus to being the best. After winning a couple of Symetra Tour events at 17, she won her first Symetra Tour title at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge. Then the rest is history.

Nelly Korda’s professional career

Her victory at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge granted her the entry ticket to the LPGA Tour. Her breakthrough victory on the LPGA Tour came in 2018 when she won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Taiwan Championship, all of this marked the birth of a legend. Later, after striving for two years, she clinched her first major title, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, which gave her the position of World No.1. She overtook the two-time major champion Jin Young Ko to be the number 1. Nelly also won four LPGA Tournaments that same year, establishing her dominance in the LPGA. She closed that year with an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics and became the second American woman to win a gold medal in golf. But she had to face some obstacles in her professional career as well.

In the next year, in 2022, she faced a major setback due to a blood clot in her left hand. During a morning routine, she noticed her hand swelling and turning purple. She immediately underwent surgery and took three to four months off the course. However, her passion and determination overcame the setback, and soon after her rehab, she played in the US Women’s Open 2022, where she finished tied 14th. In 2024, she took her ultimate form, winning in five consecutive tour events, including her second major title, The Chevron Championship. As of mid-2025, she has outperformed her inspiration Jessica Korda with 14 LPGA Titles and two major championship titles. How many more major titles do you think Nelly Korda will win? Will she surpass Annika Sorenstam? Let us know in the comments below.