Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda has mathematically clinched a spot on the U.S. Solheim Cup team.
The 25-year-old Florida native currently has 2,604 points in the U.S. Solheim Cup point standings and sits 1,136.50 points ahead of second place, a spot held by four-time LPGA Tour winner Lilia Vu.
The Qualifying Period for the 2024 Solheim Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club began at the 2023 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Korda earned nine top-10 finishes last season, seven of which were T6s or better and the best of which was a solo second at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
But it’s been 2024 that has proven to be Korda’s strongest season yet on the LPGA Tour. She captured five victories in five consecutive starts from January to April – winning the LPGA Drive On Championship, the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, the Ford Championship presented by KCC, T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards and The Chevron Championship, her second major title.
With the victory, Korda became just the third known player since 1978 to win five straight LPGA Tour events, joining Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam in the record books after her win in The Woodlands, Texas. While her streak was broken following a T7 finish at the Cognizant Founders Cup, Korda remained unfazed and ultimately won her sixth 2024 title the next week at the Mizuho Americas Open, defeating Hannah Green by just a single shot at Liberty National Golf Club.
Her victory in Jersey City, N.J., made Korda the first player to win six or more times in a single season since Inbee Park last did so in 2013 and the first American to do so since Beth Daniel won seven times in 1990.
Much like the rest of the golf world this season, U.S. Solheim Cup Captain Stacy Lewis has been incredibly impressed with Korda’s dominance on the LPGA Tour over the last six months and knows that no matter if her winning ways continue or not, the 14-time winner will be an asset to her team in Gainesville, Va., this September.
“It’s a little bit of a surprise for her to clinch her spot so early since there are so many points left. It’s just goes to show what a high level of golf she’s been playing over the last few months. Obviously, that stretch of success to start the year was incredibly impressive,” Lewis said. “To win on so many different types of golf courses, in different types of weather, under so many different conditions, when the pressure is on, it’s a testament to what an amazing athlete and competitor she is. We are so excited that she’s back on the team. I’m looking forward to pairing her up and seeing her play at RTJ.”
Korda will make her fourth Solheim Cup appearance at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. She boasts a 7-4-1 record in her three previous showings at the biennial team event, earning a total of 7.5 points for the Red, White and Blue.
In last year’s edition of the Solheim Cup, which saw Europe retain the Cup after a historic 14-14 tie, Korda won her two foursomes matches alongside Allisen Corpuz at Finca Cortesin and then lost her only fourball match with partner Ally Ewing, falling to Carlota Ciganda on Sunday in the singles matches.
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