She was so close, once again, but the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei ended up being another week that will see Nelly Korda leave without a trophy.

Alas, Korda is feeling as close as she has all season to finally taking a tournament across the finish line.

Korda fired a final-round 69 Saturday at Hoakalei Country Club and finished tied for fourth, her sixth top-five finish of the season.

“Overall, I'm putting myself into contention,” said Korda. “It's definitely an interesting year for me result-wise, but at the end of the day, I'm giving it 100 percent, controlling what I can control, and I'm happy with that.”

Korda ended up just three shots back of Youmin Hwang, who won for the first time on the LPGA Tour on Saturday. The former Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 was firmly in the mix through most of the finale after she started with a bang, making birdie on her first two holes. She gave one back with a bogey on the par-3 9th but then rattled off two straight birdies on 10 and 11 immediately after making the turn.

Korda added another birdie on the par-3 15th before losing her tee ball well right on 16, leading to a bogey, which was ultimately her undoing in the final round. “That thing went like 30 yards right of where I wanted it to go,” Korda admitted with a smile after play.

Hwang rattled off four straight birdies to finish her day – and five in her final six holes – to ultimately pull away from the chasing pack.

Korda admitted she was disappointed with the final result on Saturday, but in terms of executing on her game plan, she was right there.

“My game plan, it's pretty simple. It's always to give everything 100 percent and concentrate in and dial in it. If I'm doing what I can, then that's kind of like the most that I can do,” Korda said. “But it was nice to be in contention. The end goal always without saying for everyone in this field is to lift that trophy on Sunday. Falling a little bit short definitely motivated me.

“Have some work to do and have a couple more events to end off the season.”

Korda started her 2025 campaign with a bang, finishing second at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and then tying for seventh at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands – and everyone assumed she would be picking up right where she left off in 2024, a year that saw her win seven times.

Although she has not hoisted a trophy yet, she has also added top-five finishes at the Mizuho Americas Open, the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally, the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open and the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G.

With Korda “giving it 100 percent” through the year, she admitted that come this month – with just October and November left in the 2025 campaign – her body was “definitely worn down.”

Physically and mentally, she’s trying to continue to do the right things so that when the big moment comes and she needs to summon all she has in order to find the winner’s circle again, she’ll be ready.

“I do have some injuries I've had in the past that kind of linger that are never really fully resolved, that you still do (physiotherapy) on every single day,” Korda said. “So, making sure you're 100 percent with your body or as 100 percent as you can be is always the end goal going into the first day of the event.”

Although she hasn’t yet won in 2025, Korda said she appreciates what golf is all about through both the highs and the lows. And now, it’s time to get back to work.

“I just love the grind,” Korda said. “I love going out there, competing, doing what I love, playing in front of the fans who are just as passionate about the game as we are, and also going home and working hard on my craft.”

She’s hopeful all that hard work will pay off in a big way soon.

Nelly Korda Comes Close Again, This Time at LOTTE Championship

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