Nelly Korda not only picked up her first LPGA Tour major on Sunday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she also took over the lead in the race for the prestigious Rolex ANNIKA Major Award.
The 60 points for her victory at Atlanta Athletic Club along with the 18 she got for a third-place finish at the ANA Inspiration give Korda 78 points on the year. Patty Tavatanakit, the ANA winner, is second with 72 points while U.S. Women’s Open champion Yuka Saso has 60. Shanshan Feng is next with 32 points followed by Lydia Ko, Nasa Hataoka and Women’s PGA runner-up Lizette Salas with 24 points each.
Not only did Korda win a major championship and take over the lead in the race for the RAMA, she also moved to No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings, the first American to do that since Stacy Lewis in 2014.
“Wow, just wow,” Korda said. “A dream come true. A major championship and No. 1 in the world; is this week even real? It's amazing.”
The Rolex ANNIKA Major Award was established in 2014 to recognize the player who has the most outstanding major championship record during the current season. Points are awarded to players who finish in the top 10 at all five majors. A player must win a major to be eligible for the award.
Annika Sorenstam, the player for whom the award is named, includes 10 major championships among her 72 LPGA Tour victories. The 10 majors trail only Patty Berg (15) Mickey Wright (13) and Louise Suggs (11). The 72 LPGA Tour wins is third all-time behind Kathy Whitworth (88) and Wright (82).
The first winner of the RAMA was Michelle Wie West in 2014 followed by Inbee Park, Lydia Ko, So Yeon Ryu, Ariya Jutanugarn and Jin Young Ko. There was no winner in 2020 because the Amundi Evian Championship was canceled by COVID-19.
Next up is the Amundi Evian Championship July 22-25 and followed by the AIG Women’s Open Aug. 19-22. There is still plenty of time for things to change at the top.
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