Nelly Korda, 27, has ruled the professional golf world for ten long years, including her nine years of dominance on the main tour and one year on the Epson circuit. But the path for the current World No. 2 was never straightforward. The Olympic Gold Medalist recently spilled the beans about those years of struggle and petitions during a friendly match hosted by ‘The Lads‘ golf YouTube channel.

“I was 16 when I petitioned the commissioner,” Korda told Ryan Ruffels when the latter asked about the confusing timeline of her early career. “Yeah, I was only allowed to play first on the second stage. In the second stage, I had a good finish, and it secured me my Symmetra or Epsom Tour status. And then I played a year out there. Finished top-10 on the money list. Secured my card for the LPGA.”

At the time, the rulebook said every professional member must be at least 18 years old. Korda was only 17 years old when the 2016 season officially began. In 2015, she asked Commissioner Michael Whan for a special waiver to enter the qualifying school early. And this petition secured her a spot on the secondary tour for the 2016 season. However,  Whan blocked her from the final stage of the school.

Korda showed her class during the first stage at the Mission Hills club. She fired rounds of 72, 73, 68, and 68 to finish in third place with a -7 total, behind only Bertine Strauss (-14) and Megan Khang (-13). She then moved to the second stage at the Plantation Golf and Country Club and fired a final-round 69 to win the entire event as the medalist and advance to the Final Stage.

But despite firing exceptionally on all cylinders and securing an 11-shot victory at the AJGA Ping Invitational in 2015, Korda was not eligible to compete in the Final Stage (Stage III) because she was only 17 years old at the time. “I’m only allowed to do two stages so this is my final stage and I’m able to get my full card for Epson,” Korda shared at that time.

So the future Olympic Gold medalist played the whole 2016 season on the Epson Tour and finished ninth on the money list after a very consistent rookie season. With that, she earned over $70,000 and secured her promotion to the big stage for 2017.

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Nelly Korda was not the only star who asked for a special age waiver

At just 16, Lexi Thompson kicked the door down in 2011. Thompson petitioned for full membership after winning the Navistar LPGA Classic by five strokes while playing as a non-member. Because she won, the tour gave her full membership almost immediately after the event. Lydia Ko did the same after winning back-to-back CN Canadian Women’s Opens as an amateur. Her waiver was also granted. The ‘Korda Distinction’ was that she had not yet won a pro event as an amateur.

So Nelly Korda entered the LPGA Tour in 2017 at the age of 18. Her first official year on the main tour in 2017 ended with a solid 51st rank. The following year, Korda won her first trophy at the Swinging Skirts Taiwan Championship with a -13 total score.

She then truly reached the peak during her legendary 2021 season. The Florida native won four times on the tour and grabbed her first major championship that year at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Korda also brought home the Olympic Gold Medal at Tokyo in that season.

However, a scary blood clot in 2022 forced her to take a break. She showed amazing strength to return and reclaim her spot at the top and delivered arguably the best season in the history of golf in 2024. She won seven trophies, including a record-tying five tournaments in a row during that season.

But her recent 2025 season was a strange statistical paradox for the golf world, where she played nineteen events and made every single cut with nine Top 10 finishes. But what an irony of fate, Korda didn’t lift a single trophy despite playing exceptional golf.

At the end, Nelly Korda’s journey from a sixteen-year-old petitioner to a global legend is inspiring. And the Golden Girl of golf is not done writing her amazing story yet. Do you think Nelly will return to the winner’s circle early in 2026?