It was a familiar sight coming down the stretch on Sunday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions – Nelly Korda contending for another LPGA Tour title.

But despite giving it her best effort and carding a 7-under 65 in the final round, Korda ultimately fell just a couple of shots short of A Lim Kim at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, collecting her fifth top-five result in her seventh appearance at the year’s first tournament in Orlando, Fla., finishing solo second at 18-under overall.

Playing alongside her 2024 U.S. Solheim Cup teammate Lauren Coughlin and actor Jack Wagner in the penultimate group, Korda began the final round at 11-under, four shots behind Kim.

The Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 picked up a quick birdie on the par-5 2nd hole before giving that shot right back with a bogey on No. 3. Korda then rattled off three straight birdies on holes four, five and six to climb to 14-under and went bogey-birdie on the par-4 8th and par-5 9th holes to maintain that position and sit three behind Kim with nine holes to play at 14-under overall.

The back nine was much steadier for Korda, who made birdies on 11 and 13 to move to 16-under and get within one shot of the lead. She then tied Kim at 17-under with a birdie on the par-5 15th hole and finished off her round with a birdie on the par-4 18th hole to post the clubhouse lead at 18-under.

But Kim just couldn’t be stopped coming down the stretch at Lake Nona, grabbing a pair of back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 to climb to 19-under and then burying a lengthy birdie putt on the final hole to ultimately beat Korda by two strokes and earn her third career LPGA Tour title.

While it was a bit disappointing to not be the one hoisting the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions trophy after coming so close so many times, Korda was pleased with her effort in the first event of 2025, particularly after how high the expectations were for her heading into the week after her seven-win season in 2024.

“This is what I love about golf, being in the hunt on a Sunday going down the back nine,” Korda said. “I played well. I wish I had a couple of those putts back this week. I three-putted nine twice for par, and when you think about it that way, you're never going to be happy with the outcome. But I think first week back, get into contention and play well, there is never anything bad about it.”

There are definitely a few little things that Korda would like to shore up before competing at home in Bradenton, Fla., next week at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands. But looking at her stats after this week’s Tournament of Champions, Korda’s form doesn’t leave much of anything to be desired.

She was tied with Kim for most birdies in the field, and according to KPMG Performance Insights, Korda made 119 feet of putts in the final round at Lake Nona, holing five putts from 10 feet or further.

The runner-up showing was her 11th top-five finish in 17 total starts since the beginning of the 2024 season, and Korda has finished T5 or better in almost three times as many tournaments as she has been outside the top 20 in that same span, a testament to the American superstar’s dominance over the last 13 months and counting on the LPGA Tour.

So even though it’s still much too early to predict the level of success Korda will experience throughout the 2025 season, she proved at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions that her competitive edge is as sharp as ever, something that bodes well for the rest of the year that’s still to come.

Nelly Korda Collects Fifth Top Five in Seventh Start at Hilton Grand Vacations TOC

Related Articles