As the season enters its final stretch, Nelly Korda has clinched the 2026 Rolex Player of the Year award. The four-time major champion also leads the Race to the CME Globe standings with 3,713.875 points ahead of Miyu Yamashita. With just two events left before the top 60 players lock in their spots for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, the battle on the bubble has intensified. Late moves by Weiwei Zhang, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard and Robyn Choi have reshuffled inside the top 60, leaving players like Yu Liu and Soo Bin Joo fighting from the outside looking in.

Korda Wins the Rolex Player of the Year Award for the Second Time in Her 10-year LPGA Tour Career

Nelly Korda has mathematically clinched the 2026 Rolex Player of the Year honor, securing the prestigious title with three events remaining in the season. The 28-year-old Floridian captured the award for the second time in her 10-year LPGA Tour career, following her first win in 2024. Over the past decade, Korda stands as the only golfer to secure the Player of the Year title twice prior to the season-ending tournament.

Korda established a firm hold on the points race following her victory at The Chevron Championship and built a 63-point advantage entering the final stretch. Supported by a dominant campaign that included four victories—highlighted by two major titles at Chevron and the U.S. Women's Open—she outpaced top rivals Haeran Ryu, Jeeno Thitikul, and Miyu Yamashita. The award earns Korda a point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame, positioning her just one point shy of the threshold required for induction. She will formally accept the honor at the Rolex LPGA Awards ceremony on Nov. 17 during the week of the CME Group Tour Championship.

Race to CME Globe Heats Up on Bubble with Two Events Remaining

With only two events remaining before the season-ending finale, the pressure is mounting in the Race to the CME Globe as players scramble to secure their spots in the field. The top 60 players and ties following The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican will advance to the CME Group Tour Championship, where the winner will earn $4 million, the largest single prize in women's golf history, and the runner-up will claim $1 million.

Nelly Korda continues to set the pace atop the standings with 3,713.875 points. She leads a star-studded top five that includes Miyu Yamashita, who vaulted to No. 2 with 3,183.626 points following her victory at the Maybank Championship. Jeeno Thitikul holds third place with 2,915.375 points, followed by Haeran Ryu in fourth with 2,745.358 points and Ruoning Yin in fifth with 2,481.993 points.

The battle around the top-60 cutoff remains tight after recent shakeups at the Maybank Championship. Weiwei Zhang leaped eight spots to No. 56 with an eighth-place finish, while Pauline Roussin-Bouchard surged 21 places to No. 58 with a tie for third. Robyn Choi grabbed the final safe position at No. 60 by placing fifth, jumping 14 spots to reach 536.379 points, just ahead of current No. 59 Jodi Ewart Shadoff.

On the wrong side of the bubble, Yu Liu fell four spots to No. 61 (529.186 points) after a T60 finish, and Soo Bin Joo dropped three spots to No. 62 (520.757 points) following a T35 result. Nataliya Guseva (No. 63), Julia Lopez Ramirez (No. 64), Minji Kang (No. 65), and Dewi Weber—who slid to No. 67 after a T69 finish—also face an uphill battle. With action heading to the TOTO Japan Classic, players outside the line have precious little time left to make their move.

Erika Hara Leads the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year Race

Erika Hara is making a late-season surge down the home stretch of the LPGA Tour schedule, positioning herself at the top of the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings with only a handful of tournaments remaining.

The 27-year-old Japanese standout holds a slim lead over Republic of Korea's Youmin Hwang, who sits in a close second in the points race. Hara has leveraged a string of consistent top-10 finishes and strong play in major championships to build her narrow buffer over fellow first-year competitors. With the season ending, every round carries heightened stakes in one of the tour's most prestigious annual honors.

To secure her LPGA Tour membership for the 2026 season, Hara finished fifth in the Epson Tour's Race for the Card standings. Her qualifying campaign featured remarkable consistency, making 17 cuts in 18 starts on the Epson Tour and recording nine top-10 finishes, highlighted by a victory at the Wildhorse Ladies Golf Classic.

The Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award is decided using a point system based on official LPGA tournament finishes. Points are awarded to rookies who make the cut, with higher point values allocated for victories and top-10 performances.

With only a few stops remaining before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, Hara controls her own fate as she looks to hold off Hwang and become the latest Japanese player to capture the award.

Ryann O’Toole Positioned to Win $1M Aon Risk Reward Challenge

Ryann O’Toole stands on the brink of capturing the LPGA Tour’s Aon Risk Reward Challenge and its $1 million top prize, holding a dominant lead in the season-long strategic competition as the regular season winds down.

O’Toole tops the standings with a score-to-par average of -0.917, having played the designated challenge holes at 22-under par across 24 qualified rounds. O’Toole, who is expecting her first child, played her final event of the season at the FM Championship.

The Aon Risk Reward Challenge measures player performance on strategically demanding holes across the LPGA Tour schedule. Players take their best two scores from each designated hole throughout the year, with the title and $1 million payout going to the player with the lowest average score to par over a minimum of 40 tournament rounds.

Only Jeeno Thitikul remains in mathematical contention to overtake O’Toole. The Thailand native currently sits in second place with an average of -0.806.

With only the TOTO Japan Classic remaining on Thitikul's current schedule before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, she would need to make two double eagles over four rounds in Japan to pass O’Toole.

Sei Young Kim (-0.778), Lottie Woad (-0.762), and Gaby Lopez (-0.735) round out the top five in the standings.

Making Moves: Player of the Year Honors Clinched and Race to CME Globe Bubble Heats Up

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