Nelly Korda has all but wrapped up LPGA player of the year. Lydia Ko would make for a good debate

 

[October 23, 2024]  By DOUG FERGUSON

The case for LPGA Tour player of the year could be compelling if it were decided by a vote of the players instead of a points system.

As it stands, Nelly Korda has virtually locked up the award for the first time. Lydia Ko would have to win four more tournaments the rest of the season, and she is playing in only two of them. Two other players, Ayaka Furue and Haeran Ryu, would have to win out.

Korda winning would not elicit much of a debate. Her six victories this year include a major at The Chevron Championship, and she tied an LPGA record by winning five in a row that brought much-needed attention to the LPGA.

Ko has won four times this year, including the Women’s British Open at St. Andrews. The LPGA remarkably counts only three wins toward the points-based award. Left out is that shiny gold medal at the Olympics.

How would the players vote?

The benefit of using points is eliminating subjectivity. The PGA Tour uses a player vote, and it was surprising last year when Scottie Scheffler with his two wins captured the award over Jon Rahm, whose four wins included the Masters.

Scheffler’s consistency — the best statistical season since peak Tiger Woods — was a big factor. Unknown was whether Rahm lost votes by defecting to LIV Golf in the middle of the voting.

Ko might be the first to agree Korda is deserving of the award. It’s also likely the Kiwi wouldn’t trade her season. Golf is about trophies, and it’s also about moments. Ko had some big ones.

Her gold medal in Paris, which followed a bronze in Tokyo and a silver in Rio de Janeiro, made her eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame. Winning another major was big, but winning at St. Andrews is next level.

The Golf Writers Association of America will decide at year’s end through a vote.

The PGA Tour, meanwhile, might have a similar argument. Scheffler is the likely choice for another stunning statistical year, this time to go along with seven victories, including the Masters and The Players Championship, and four signature events.

He also won the Olympic gold medal with a 62 in the final round.

Xander Schauffele won only twice, but they were majors at the PGA Championship and British Open. And players tend to put the most weight on majors.

No PGA Tour member has ever won two majors in the same year without being voted player of the year (Nick Faldo was not a member in 1990). Then again, it could be a measure of whether players really put The Players on par with a major.

Voting for PGA Tour player of the year doesn’t start until after the season ends on Nov. 24.

This would seem to an easy choice — at least Schauffele thinks so. He was asked Tuesday in Japan what it would take to win the award next year.

“It seems I need to have the best career ever,” he said. “I just had my best career ever and wasn’t really close.”

A short return

Justin Thomas is ending one of the longest breaks of his career when he plays the Zozo Championship. He last competed on Sept. 1 at the Tour Championship. And then it’s time for another break as his wife is due to give birth to their first child next month.

“I was champing at the bit to get here,” Thomas said Tuesday. “The time off is nice, but if I don’t compete for a long time, I want to get back and play in tournaments again.”

He said he has a mix of time spent with family and friends and plenty of practice.

“I’ve been excited to practice and been really excited for the opportunity to play and compete this week,” he said. “Although it’s been an enjoyable time off, I’m very happy to be back and play in a tournament again.”

He said impending fatherhood (they’re expecting a girl) probably won’t hit him until the flight home to Florida.

Lydia Ko of New Zealand watches her tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the LPGA Ladies Championship golf tournament at the Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju, South Korea, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Bahamas field

Tiger Woods released the field for his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the first week of December. His name is not yet on the list.

Woods had another back surgery last month, and the recovery time is eight to 12 weeks. The hope is he can return for the PNC Championship with his son on Dec. 21-22, and his camp had not ruled out him playing in the Bahamas.

Scottie Scheffler is back to defend his title on Dec. 5-8. Also committed to playing were Ludvig Aberg (coming off knee surgery) and Patrick Cantlay. Newcomers include Robert MacIntyre, Matthieu Pavon and Aaron Rai.

Players must be in the top 50 in the world to get an invitation. Woods is exempt from that as the tournament host.

Stricker on early leave

No matter his age or where he is in his career, Steve Stricker has been consistent about one part of his schedule: He doesn't like playing much after September. Such is the case this year. He won the Sanford International on Sept. 15 and is done for the year.

Part of that is due to an ailing lower back. Stricker said he is considering ablation to burn the nerve endings, hopeful that will help. The alternative is surgery that he would rather avoid.

The bigger part of not playing is that Stricker never does this time of the year. He has never played a Charles Schwab Cup playoff event. Stricker clinched the title last year before the playoffs began. He intended to play in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship until his father’s health began to decline.

This is nothing new, of course. In 2006, he was at No. 32 on the PGA Tour money list with three tournaments left to get into the Tour Championship. This was October, and Stricker skipped them all.

More famously was 2001, when he took off two months before the Tour Championship and narrowly held on to the 30th spot.

What's occupying his time, at the moment, is bow hunting. But this week he is back to work, even if that means leaving his clubs at home. He is caddying for his daughter, Bobbi, in the second stage of LPGA qualifying.

Divots

The World Champions Cup at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida, has been canceled this year. It's a PGA Tour Champions event of nine-hole matches among teams from the U.S., Europe and the rest of the world. Organizers felt the focus should be on recovering from Hurricane Milton. ... Michelle Wie West is now a mother of two. Wie West and husband Jonnie West announced the birth of their son, Jagger Jerry YooJun West. West is the son of late NBA legend Jerry West. They already have a daughter, McKenna. ... The PGA Professional Championship is moving from Frisco, Texas, to Bandon Dunes in Oregon for 2025. The tournament that determines the top 20 club pros who get into the PGA Championship will be played on the Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes courses. ... Utah can count on two PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments over the next few years. Along with the new Black Desert Championship on the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour announced an extension of the Utah Championship through at least 2027. It will be held next year at Ogden Golf and Country Club.

Stat of the week

Four of the last five tournaments on the PGA Tour were won with all four rounds in the 60s. The exception was the Procore Championship, where Patton Kizzire had one round at 70.

Final word

“You can't put it in a carry-on, I'll say that much. It would be a massive trunk.” — Xander Schauffele, on why he brought to Japan the claret jug from the British Open he won instead of the Wanamaker Trophy from the PGA Championship. The trophy is 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall and weighs 27 pounds (12 kilograms).

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