This season on the LPGA, eight players won more than $2 million. Jeeno Thitikul came out on top of the money list, making around $7.5 million. 43 other golfers crossed the million-dollar mark, setting a new Tour record. Last year, that number was 34. In 2021, it was only 15. While money isn’t a measure of skill, it has become a lens through which performances become easier to read. And right at the center of this shifting landscape are Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko. While we know Korda went winless this year, Ko still managed to earn a win. But does that mean she ranks ahead of Nelly Korda in earnings?

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The Numbers Behind Nelly Korda & Lydia Ko’s 2025 Season

Nelly Korda’s year didn’t come with a glitter of trophies, but it came with consistency.  In 19 starts, she didn’t miss a single cut, racking up nine top-10 finishes, and seven of those were inside the top five. Out of those, she had two runner-up finishes. Her best week came at the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open, where she finished tied 2nd and lost to Maja Stark on the last hole.

However, that week earned her over $1 million, her highest paycheck of the season, and more than what players made in a full year. Even with her worst finish this season, at the Amundi Evian Championship (T43), she still managed to earn $34,390.

Last week, at the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, she came extremely close at her last chance to win a title for the season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for her, but she still managed to finish tied 3rd, earning $550,000. And with that, she closed the year at $2,780,355, ranked fifth on the official money list for 2025. All without a win. A stark contrast to what her 2024 season was like.

In fact, Korda’s stats were as impressive as last year’s. Her scoring average dropped from 69.56 to 69.44, even though she played more rounds this year. She also lost her World No.1 crown (held for 71 consecutive weeks) to Jeeno Thitikul before the AIG Women’s Open. Still, she ranked third in total strokes gained and stayed within striking distance of contention almost every week. So, in Korda’s case, her earnings column for this season spoke louder than a trophy.

Lydia Ko’s season this year, by contrast, was less consistent. Though she played just 16 events this year, Ko managed to make only $1,172,787. That places her far behind Nelly Korda, at 34th on the official money list. She earned one win this year at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, where she pocketed $360,000. But that wasn’t enough to surpass Korda’s consistent finishes.

Ko’s season saw her have more finishes outside the top-20 than within the top-10. She just had 5 top-10 finishes compared to Korda’s 9. Her best besides the win? A tied 5th finish at the CPKC Women’s Open, where she made $103,782. And she even missed two cuts, at the Dow Championship and the Amundi Evian Championship. In some events, like the Founders Cup, where she finished tied 48th, Lydia Ko only made $6919, her lowest paycheck of the season.

Still, Lydia Ko’s career speaks louder than any single season. She remains second on the all-time career earnings list with $21,316,768 in 261 starts, a testament to her 23 wins and the enduring power she’s had since joining the LPGA in 2014. At 28, she remains both a veteran and a threat, as someone who can win early in the season.

But Nelly Korda is catching up to her. Although she ranks 9th (over $16 million) on the all-time career earnings list, Korda has climbed the ranks quickly with just 162 starts since she joined the LPGA in 2017. Her rise has been sharp, and she has managed to keep her name hovering near the top of every money list, even in a year without a win.

And that’s what makes her 2025 season feel so striking. She didn’t lift a single trophy, yet she still earned $2,780,355, almost more than double that of Lydia Ko’s total. But there’s also an interesting twist behind both their seasons. Despite everything they earned, both players actually slipped down the money list this year.

Both Saw a Drop in Their Rankings on the Money List

Both Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko saw a drop on the money list from last year, despite strong seasons by their own standards. Last year, Nelly Korda earned $4,391,930 over 16 events, winning seven times and securing second place on the money list. Her six-win streak by the end of May made her “the primary beneficiary of the LPGA Tour’s record-breaking purses, putting her on the brink of entering uncharted fiscal territory,” as Golf Digest put it.

By mid-2024, Korda had already earned $2,943,708 from just eight events, enough to rank eighth in single-season earnings in LPGA history, even with more than 70 percent of the tour’s $123 million purse still left to be paid out.

Lydia Ko, meanwhile, earned $3,201,289 across 20 events in 2024, finishing third on the money list. She claimed three wins — at the Kroger Queen City, the AIG Women’s Open, and the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. While both players had standout seasons in 2024, it is evident that this season did not turn out to be as good for either of them.

In the end, 2025 was a season that highlighted the different paths to success. Nelly Korda had a steady season but no wins, and still managed to finish within the top of the list. Lydia Ko, on the other hand, had an erratic season, with a win but several poor finishes. So, it might also be safe to say that consistency is more rewarding than occasional brilliance, at least when it comes to year-end earnings.