ALL EYES ON NELLY: Korda favored as Tour Championship unwraps

MIAMI (AFP) — Top-ranked Nelly Korda, trying to win her eighth LPGA title of the season, will be the favorite when the season-ending Tour Championship begins on Thursday.

The 26-year-old American has already clinched her spot as LPGA Player of the Year and she could break the one-season LPGA winnings record in the $11 million event at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida.

“It has been a crazy year,” Korda said.

“I’m grateful for all of it. I’m grateful for the highs, grateful for the lows, grateful to be doing what I love in front of people, hopefully inspiring the next generation.”

The top 60 LPGA players in the season points chase qualified for the season finale in Southwest Florida.

Korda had eight wins for her LPGA career heading into this season and quickly padded that total by winning January’s Drive On Championship in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida.

She added the Pak Se-ri and Ford championships in March and the LPGA Match Play and Chevron Championship, her second major win, in April.

Korda captured the Americas Open in May and last week’s Annika crown to reach $4,164,430 in prize money this season and can set a new LPGA one-season mark with a top-five finish this week.

Mexico’s Lorena Ochoa was the most recent player to capture eight LPGA titles in a campaign, doing so in 2007, and she set an LPGA prize money record of $4,364,994 that year.

Her record will be overtaken by whoever captures this week’s $4 million top prize, doubled from last year, and Korda will pass Ochoa’s mark with a top-five finish, something she has managed three times at Tiburon.

A neck injury sidelined Korda for nearly two months before she returned last week and won the Annika title, but the break gave Korda time to reflect on an amazing year.

“I’ve had an extended period at home. I’ve definitely reminisced a little bit about the season, but I’ve also been motivated to finish the year strong,” she said.

“It’s really tough to win out here against such great players. The caliber of players is really high. It’s really nice to know that all the hard work that I put in with my team is paying off.”

Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul is set to have the LPGA’s lowest scoring average, now on 69.54, but she won’t win the Vare Trophy usually given to that statistical season leader.

Seventh-ranked Jeeno, who won last year’s Vare on 69.53, will not finish with enough rounds to reach the minimum 70 to qualify for the award, entering the finale with 62 rounds, two more than Korda, who ranks second to Jeeno in scoring average on 69.66.

“I just keep it on my stats that it’s two years in a row that I have (low) scoring average, even if I’m going to lift the trophy or not,” Jeeno said.

“But it’s a really good number and really good stat.”

The top contenders for the Vare Trophy this week are South Korea’s Ryu Hae-ran on 69.98 and Japan’s Ayaka Furue on 70.05.

South Korea’s Amy Yang is the defending champion, having won by three strokes last year.

Japan’s Mao Saigo leads the LPGA Rookie of the Year race with South Korea’s Im Jin-hee 66 points adrift. Im needs a top-three finish with Saigo outside the 40 to overtake her for the award.