The CME Group Tour Championship has long been more than just a season-ending event on the LPGA Tour. After all, in seven of the last ten years, the tournament has played a decisive role in determining who takes home the LPGA Player of the Year award. But this year, the story could unfold differently, as Nelly Korda holds a commanding lead.
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As Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols pointed out, World No. 1 Nelly Korda might not need to lift another club for the rest of the season and could still walk away with the prestigious honor.
The Bradenton, Florida, native currently holds a 75-point lead over Haeran Ryu, who hasn’t competed on the LPGA Tour since the FM Championship in August. And if the South Korean hopes to overtake Korda in the Player of the Year race, she has quite a mountain to climb.
She would need to either win three tournaments or secure two victories, a runner-up finish, and an eighth-place finish to move ahead of the World No. 1. While possible, doing this with just five events left is no less than a daunting task.
The World No. 3 will compete in the BMW Championship this week on home soil and the Maybank Championship in Malaysia while Korda continues her two-month break from the LPGA Tour, skipping the whole Asian swing. So, that makes things a bit easier for Ryu.
However, the South Korean’s decision to skip the TOTO Japan Classic makes her task even more difficult. And if she fails to reduce Korda’s lead to 60 points or fewer by the time the TOTO tournament concludes, the World No. 1 will mathematically clinch the LPGA Player of the Year award.
And two events will still remain after that, which include the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. That said, the South Korean isn’t the only threat to Nelly Korda’s path to winning the award this year.
What does Jeeno Thitikul need to do to overtake Nelly Korda?
World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul is also in contention for the award, although her path to victory is considerably more difficult. Trailing Korda by 84 points, the Thai golfer would need to win three tournaments to overtake the World No. 1. While that remains mathematically possible, there is a catch.
Thitikul is currently scheduled to compete in only the TOTO Japan Classic and the CME Group Tour Championship. If she hopes to give herself a shot at three victories, she must enter The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican before the November 3 deadline.
Meanwhile, Miyu Yamashita also remains mathematically in the race, although the Japanese golfer faces an even steeper challenge. Yamashita would need to win four tournaments to surpass Korda. Fortunately for her, she is scheduled to compete in all five remaining events.
However, if none of these challengers manage to catch Korda, the American will claim her second LPGA Rolex Player of the Year award. She previously won the honor in 2024, securing it with two tournaments still remaining.
And if history repeats itself, Korda will move another step closer to the LPGA Hall of Fame. Winning the award would earn her one additional Hall of Fame point, taking her career total to 26. With 27 points required for induction, the World No. 1 would then be just one point away from joining golf’s most prestigious club.