Korda wins the award for the second time in her 10-year LPGA Tour career

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 3, 2026) – The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced today that Nelly Korda has earned the Rolex Player of the Year with three events remaining in the 2026 season. Korda has been named the recipient of the award following the entry deadline for The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican at 5 p.m. ET. Korda will be honored at the Rolex LPGA Awards on Tues., Nov. 17, during the week of the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

The 28-year-old Floridian has held the lead in the Rolex Player of the Year race since her win at The Chevron Championship. Entering the LPGA Tour’s fall Asia swing, Korda led by 75 points, thanks to her four wins in 2026. Her closest competitors were standout names from this season – Haeran Ryu, Jeeno Thitikul, and Miyu Yamashita.

With four events remaining on Ryu’s schedule, she had to have two wins, a second-place finish or better, and an eighth-place finish or better to have a chance. Ryu kept her chances alive with a runner-up finish at the BMW Ladies Championship but withdrew from the Maybank Championship prior to the first round.

Both Yamashita and Thitikul are scheduled to play the TOTO Japan Classic and the CME Group Tour Championship. Each player needed three wins for a chance to pass Korda for the Rolex Player of the Year Award and would have had to enter The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican field by Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. ET for another playing opportunity.

The prestigious Rolex Player of the Year Award was introduced to the LPGA in 1966, and each year, the recipient earns one point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame. LPGA Tour players are awarded points at each official LPGA tournament based on top-10 finishes with the top points earner for the season taking home the honor each year. Points are doubled at each of the LPGA Tour's five major championships – The Chevron Championship, the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, the U.S. Women's Open, the Amundi Evian Championship and the AIG Women's Open. Past winners of the award include Jeeno Thitikul, Lydia Ko, Inbee Park, Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam and many more. The full list of past winners can be viewed here.

In the last 10 years, Korda is the first player to mathematically clinch the Rolex Player of the Year twice before the season-ending event. She previously clinched the award in 2024 with three events remaining in the LPGA Tour season.

The 2026 Rolex Player of the Year Award grants Korda her 26th point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame, leaving her one shy of adding her name to the historic list of players. There are four ways for Korda to pass the 27-point threshold – winning an official LPGA Tour event (1 point) or major championship (2 points), claiming the Vare Trophy (1 point), or receiving an Olympic Gold Medal (1 point). There are two official LPGA Tour events remaining in 2026 for Korda to earn her final point; The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican or the CME Group Tour Championship. Korda is not eligible to win the Vare Trophy this year due to not meeting the minimum requirement for rounds played.

Nelly Korda Earns 2026 Rolex Player of the Year Award

Related Articles