Nelly Korda handles the headlines. But Lydia Ko is also chasing history
CHASKA, Minn. — Very few people know what Nelly Korda is going through right now. Although Lydia Ko is one of them.
At the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National on Wednesday, minutes after Korda finished her pre-tournament time with the media, Ko jumped backstage to explain what life is like on the banks of Fame.
“It’s very exciting that Nelly is only two points away,” said Ko, as Korda stood just a few meters away. “I believe it’s close to the form he was in.”
The LPGA has a different points system for entering the HOF, and after winning the US Women’s Open last month, Korda collected 25 of the 27 points required. A big win is good for two points, meaning Korda’s first of many chances to play his way came last week at Hazeltine. (Korda tied for 8th place; quest continues.)
Ko knows this game well.
Back in January 2024, Ko won the season-opening Tournament of Champions to reach Hall of Fame eligibility, and a week later he was on the verge of reaching that point and won the LPGA Drive on Championship. But in the group behind him, Korda completed an eagle-birdie to force a playoff and beat Ko on the second extra hole.
“When that was done, I had a heartache because you felt like you were close and you could feel it in your hands and then it was gone,” said Ko on Wednesday. “It was like emotions I had never felt before. After that I didn’t put myself in the fight that much. Every time I sit in front of the media that question. he is only one point away. I feel like Nelly will manage much better than me.”
Although there was a happy ending here.
“But could I see myself going into the Hall of Fame for winning gold at the Olympics?” Ko said. “Probably not.”
Ko punched his Hall-of-Fame ticket at the 2024 Paris Games when he was just 27 years old, which is Korda’s age now. (Korda turns 28 on July 28.)
But as Korda chases down the Hall of Fame, Ko is still chasing something of his own. Since winning the 2024 Women’s Open, she has opened the door to the next big thing: a Grand Slam career.
Ko has won three majors – the 2015 Evian, the 2016 Chevron and the 2024 Women’s Open – and the LPGA requires players to win four of the five majors to complete a career Slam.
Seven players did it, and one of them – Karrie Webb – completed the “super” career Slam, winning all five majors. Ko would become the eighth grand-slam winner with a victory at the US Women’s Open or the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. You have learned, as well as anyone, that overcoming one obstacle leads to another.
“I think even as an amateur it was like, When do you create a profile? Are you doing Pro now? Then it’s like, When do you finish your first LPGA event as a member? Then, Will he break Morgan’s record? There’s always something,” said Ko, who believes you technically have to win five LPGA majors to capture a slam. “I think it’s good to have a goal. It’s always good to have something to reach for, and that’s the same even if you’re a professional athlete.
“So, yeah, I think I’ve gone through all that so now I deal with it better and, honestly, because I feel it and I’m not a robot that I can’t let it come out the other side, but I just don’t think I let that affect me too much in how I deal with these events.”
In her first chance to complete a slam last year, Ko did not crack the top 10 at either the US Women’s Open or the Women’s PGA. She missed the cut at the US Women’s Open at Riviera last month, and her last chance of 2026 came last week at Hazeltine, where she got off to a rough start.
He bogeyed 6, 7 and 9 to turn 39 on Thursday morning, and made one birdie on the back nine to shoot a 76. He chased all week and played well but was never completely caught. He shot 69 on Friday and Saturday and closed with a 70 on Sunday.
Ko is tied for 15th, although only one player (eventual champion Haeran Ryu) has scored lower in the last three rounds than Ko’s eight underdogs. It was her best finish of the year and her second best since winning the 2024 AIG Women’s Open.
There is one important caveat to Ko’s run at the slam, however. His efforts seem limited.
Ko, 29, celebrates his 30th birthday next April, and has long said he plans to retire around that age. One might assume he is playing a full season next year, giving him two more tries at the Grand Slam, although he has kept his plans somewhat private. He told GOLF last year, “I want to go out when I want.” (She could also qualify for future US Women’s Opens, for example, while not a full member of the LPGA; it’s unclear what kind of exemption she would receive as a Hall-of-Fame member.)
“I always thought that the Grand Slam career was something I really wanted to do,” Ko said on Wednesday. “Now thinking about it, it’s very difficult. It’s hard enough to win five majors, to win all the different ones is very difficult I would say. And to be at the top of the majors every time it comes within a four-ish month period, it’s difficult.
“This has always been my goal, but if I accomplish a Grand Slam career I won’t be like, Oh, yeah, I’m better than I was two years ago or five years ago. People are like, ‘You can’t retire until you do that.’ I’m like, I don’t know if it’s going to happen. If they told me that if I played for the next five years and I would do it, then, yes, I probably would. There are no guarantees, and I can just have fun while playing this amazing tournament. “
His next chance comes in 11 months.
