August 3rd, 2026

By Australian Golf Digest

[Photo: 2026 Getty Images]

Nelly Korda has won the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award after earning 140 points through the five major championships of the 2026 LPGA Tour season. She becomes just the second player to win the award twice, joining Australia’s Minjee Lee, who secured the honour in 2022 and 2025. Korda also leads in Rolex Player of the Year points and sits No.1 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Entering the AIG Women’s Open, Korda and Haeran Ryu were the only two players eligible to win the award, having each claimed two major championship victories in 2026. A tied-eighth finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship gave Korda a six-point advantage over Ryu heading into Royal Lytham & St Annes.

After four days of links golf, Korda tied for fourth with rounds of 73-68-73-68 to finish at two-under overall. That performance earned her 14 points, enough to hold off Ryu and secure the award.

Entering 2026, the 28-year-old hadn’t won a major championship since 2024. She opened her major season with a win at the Chevron Championship, held for the first time at Memorial Park Golf Club, before following up with victory at the US Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club, host of the 2028 Olympic Games. That win made Korda the first American to claim the first two majors of the season since Pat Bradley in 1986.

At Hazeltine National, Korda was bested by Ryu, finishing tied for eighth as the South Korean claimed her first major title. She then missed her first cut since 2024 at the Amundi Evian Championship, before wrapping up her major season with a tied-fourth at the AIG Women’s Open to seal her second ANNIKA Major Award. Korda becomes the first player with four top-10 finishes in majors, alongside multiple wins in the same season, since Inbee Park in 2015.

Past winners of the award include Michelle Wie West (2014), Inbee Park (2015), Lydia Ko (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2018), Ko again (2019), Patty Tavatanakit (2021), Lilia Vu (2023) and Lee (2022, 2025). The award was not presented in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Korda will be honoured at the Rolex LPGA Awards during the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in November.

The Rolex ANNIKA Major Award recognises the player with the most outstanding record across all five major championships in a season. Points are awarded to top-10 finishers at each major, with the winner required to have claimed at least one major title that year.