World No. 3 Haeran Ryu withdrew prior to the first round of the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, which surely reverberated all the way back in Bradenton, Florida.
Without Ryu's ability to earn any points at the Maybank, world No. 1 Nelly Korda has very nearly clinched the LPGA Rolex Player of the Year title. As Ryu is now unable to mathematically win, the only two players standing in the way of Korda are world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul and No. 4 Miyu Yamashita – and they're both long shots.
Thitikul needs to win three more tournaments to have a chance but has only entered in two. Yamashita needs to win four tournaments but has only entered in three. Both players have until Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. E.T. enter The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.
Yamashita
opened with a 65 in Malaysia, where she's defending champion, and trails by one.
Korda, who is in the midst of a two-month break from the tour, has 239 points, leading Ryu by 63 points (A victory is worth 30 points.) Last week, Ryu took a share of second at the BMW Ladies Championship. A two-time major winner on the LPGA this season, Ryu withdrew on Thursday morning before hitting a shot. She did not give tournament officials a reason for her withdrawal.
Korda first won the POY title in 2024 after winning seven times. This season, she has four titles, including major championship victories at the Chevron Championship and U.S. Women's Open at Riviera. She also has a trio of seconds.
The POY will give Korda 26 of the 27 points needed to enter the World Golf Hall of Fame. While she leads the LPGA in scoring, Korda is unable to win the Vare Trophy because she won't meet the minimum number of rounds played.
She could still enter the Hall of Fame in 2026 with a win at either The Annika or season-ending CME.
Beth Ann Nichols is a senior writer for Golfweek covering the LPGA and all things women's golf. Follow her on X/Twitter (@GolfweekNichols).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Nelly Korda close to clinching Player of the Year after this top player's WD
