NAPLES, Fla. – Nelly Korda’s final full swing of the 2025 LPGA season came from the middle of the 18th fairway at Tiburon Golf Club. The stroke was clean, there was a slight club turn and the ball landed 7 meters away from the pin. Her birdie attempt went towards the middle of the cup but died right at the last second, leaving her with a par in a manner that perfectly reflected a winless season.
Nelly Korda was Good in 2025, but not at the level many expected after a seven-win 2024.
“It’s definitely been an interesting year, I would say,” Korda said during her pre-tournament press conference at the CME Group Tour Championship. “There have been good moments; there have been moments of really good things; there have been moments of I don’t know what just happened. Overall, I would say it’s just kind of a wave. Last year it’s always been hard to back that up.”
It would be easy to focus on one number when it comes to Korda. Going from seven wins to zero while dropping to second in the world would on the surface indicate that her game was taking a step back. That the LPGA’s dominant star fell back into the pack in 2025. But using wins as the sole barometer in an individual sport can be misleading.
“It’s a fine line, honestly,” Korda said. “It comes down to one shot sometimes. It’s like sticking your lips out with one ball and not getting your momentum. It’s just such a fine line when it comes to golf.”
“I don’t necessarily think I’m a worse golfer or a better golfer. I would say maybe a few more things went my way last year. That’s just the way golf is. I’m never going to have a pity party or be like, oh, why is it in this divot or why did I get that bad bounce. It’s just sport. That’s just the way they are. Sometimes you get a wave of good bounces and good breaks, and sometimes you don’t.”
Korda’s stats did decline a bit this season, but not in a way that indicates her play declined.
She finished the 2025 season with a better scoring average, better strokes gained: off the tee, a better birdie or percentage and better bogey avoidance numbers than in 2024. Her approach game was almost the same and her putting numbers were better. Her around-the-green numbers were the only ones to drop significantly, going from 0.42 strokes gained to 0.13. Her Par 4 score was the same and her Par 5 score was slightly worse at 4.55, compared to 4.50. She still led the LPGA in that category.
“She has better stats than last year, but she hasn’t won and she won seven, eight times last year,” Lydia Ko said of Korda. “Sometimes the stats don’t add up. If you did that, you’d think, OK, you’d win X number of times. There’s so many variables and you’re playing against 143 other players. It’s just a lot of things.”
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This week in Naples, Korda repeatedly used the phrase “that’s golf” to explain a winless season. She called it a “rut.” But the world number 2 also revealed that a frustrating season in which she finished second at the US Women’s Open and failed to reach the winner’s circle had given her something important.
Playing professional golf can be isolating. A season of burnt edges and bad jumps would cause many to turn inward and cook, losing a wasted year. But Korda used this season — and the last — as a reminder that she doesn’t have to carry everything on her shoulders. That those closest to her have priceless value.
“I would say you get a lot more criticism when you’re at the top, and because you’re in a tight circle, you’re very grateful for the people around you,” Korda said. “The circle is getting a little smaller, but I think I have a great circle. I would say I’m extremely lucky for the people I have around me. At the end of the day, the life that we live and perform for people, it’s super important to have that stability in your life.
“I would say what I learned about myself this year is that it’s okay to lean on others when things aren’t going well,” Korda added. “In every way possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s showing up for me, calling, texting, FaceTiming, it doesn’t matter. They just show up every day, which I’m very grateful for.”
This season prompted Korda to vent, albeit sometimes too much, to the people around her. But their perspective was invaluable in helping her see the whole picture of a season that didn’t include a win.
“They are also a great memory,” Korda said of her team. “They see things differently than what I might see. And they’ve been with me for so long. I’ve had pretty much the same team my entire career. I think then you get a whole new perspective when you talk to your team that’s been around for so long.”
That perspective led Korda to be pleased with the improvement she’s seen in parts of her game, her relatively clean bill of health, and the entirety of what she’s put into her game and body, even if the desired result was never achieved.
“When it comes to the level of effort I put into this game, I would say I’m probably giving it more this year. Every year I give it more and more. I think about it more and more,” Korda said. “There is certainly no lack of commitment in any department.”
When Korda made par on Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club, she finished her season in third place, six shots behind world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, the same margin as when the day started. Korda came in on Sunday and had to go as low as possible to catch Thitikul. She went out in one-over 37 before scoring three birdies and a hole-out eagle on the back nine to end her season.
As has been the case since her Sunday performance at the season-opening Tournament of Champions fell just short, Nelly Korda’s best arrived but didn’t stick around. It made a cameo to remind us how great she can be, then heated up to reveal a season of good golf and disappointing results.
But as shocking as Korda’s winless season is, it is nothing more than the ebb and flow of professional golf.
In 2017, Rory McIlroy, who had won seven times in two years, remained winless and dropped to eleventh in the world. He said he played through a rib injury, but he still finished T7 at the Masters and T4 at the Open, so he was good enough to compete; he just didn’t win. From November 2019 to May 2021, McIlroy went winless across 25 events, falling to No. 9 in the world. He recovered to return to world number 1 and has since won twelve times worldwide.
Korda will almost certainly bounce back. The victories will certainly come again. The talent and drive are too great not to do that. And the 2025 season could well become a catalyst for Korda’s next deluge, because of the fire it ignited and the simple reminder it provided: that Nelly Korda doesn’t have to go it alone.
“Honestly, it just flew by,” Korda said of the season. “I’ve played some really great golf. I’ve played some iffy golf. I think that’s every year.”
“I’m just grateful for the people around me.”
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