The highest-ranked player in the field at this week’s AmazingCre Portland Classic is Nelly Korda, who arrives at Columbia Edgewater Country Club sitting in the No.2 spot in the Rolex Rankings. Just 36.45 points behind Jin Young Ko, Korda could move into the top spot with a win in Portland.
Korda is one of three players in the field who have six or more top-1o finishes this season without a victory. The other two are 2019 AmazingCre Portland Classic champion Hannah Green, who also has six top-10 finishes, and leading candidate for the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year, Hye-Jin Choi, who leads the top-10s-without-a-victory category with eight in 2022.
According to data collected and analyzed by KPMG, Korda enters this week as the only player on the LPGA Tour to average at least a quarter of a stroke gained per round in each of the measured disciplines: off-the-tee, approach, around the green and putting.
| Her per-round strokes-gained numbers are as follows: | |
|---|---|
| Off the Tee | 0.88 |
| Approach to Green | 0.41 |
| Around the Green | 0.26 |
| Putting | 0.64 |
| Total | 2.19 |
Korda had to take four months off this year because of a blood clot in her left arm, so this year’s numbers could be skewed. However, when you look at a two-year average, Nelly leads in a number of scoring categories.
| Over the last two years, her ranks are: | |
|---|---|
| Scoring Average | 1st |
| Rounds in 60s % | 1st |
| Top 10 Finishes % | 1st |
| Birdies of better % | 1st |
Korda has four top-ten finishes in her six LPGA stroke play starts since returning from injury. During that stretch, she’s gaining a stroke and a half on the field per round from tee to green. Here are Nelly’s strokes-gained results since she returned to play at the U.S. Women’s Open in June.
| Starts | 6 |
| Top 10s | 4 |
| Scoring Average | 69.5 |
| SG total | 2.33 |
| SG tee-to-green | 1.50 |
| SG putting | 0.83 |
Korda tees off at 8:21 a.m. local time on Thursday with Green and another past champion, Marina Alex, who earned her first career victory at the AmazingCre Portland Classic in 2018.
KPMG Performance Insights provide data-driven perspectives to players and fans each week on the LPGA Tour.
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