Nelly Korda regrets 1 shot in winless 2025

NAPLES, Florida – Nelly Korda had a simple explanation for her winless 2025 season when the LPGA concluded the year on Sunday in Naples.

“It was a tough time,” Korda said of his seven-win follow-up campaign in 2024. “Success is never linear.”

While it’s true, every decision and every swing Korda made in 2025 played a role in the final outcome, capping a disappointing season for the LPGA’s biggest star. One thing in particular still lingers on Korda’s mind. It turned out to be the defining shot of his season, just not in the way he expected.

“No. 18 at the U.S. Open at all,” Korda said of her final perfect performance at Erin Hills on Sunday. “I actually hit that shot really well. Probably the best shot I hit all year, and just because of the adrenaline I hit it, maybe, I don’t know, 10 yards too long and a little bit too much to the left; on Monday at the beginning of the week I was in a place where I was like, I can’t be here, and I was there. So if I could get one shot back, this would be it.”

Korda entered the week preaching patience at Erin Hills. The US Women’s Open is the tournament she likes the most. This is what has given him the most trouble throughout his career. Korda finished with a score of 80 in the final round of the 2023 US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. He scored the same score during the opening round of the 2024 edition at Lancaster Country Club. Women’s golf’s premier event has left her reeling, but she came to Wisconsin with a plan to join the controversy and change the narrative.

“If you want to feel it, you’ll feel it,” Korda said of the pressure of competing and expecting to win. “But I think what’s really important is to stick to your game plan and really focus on what you’re doing in the present moment, and that’s really helped me.”

Korda stuck to her patient approach at Erin Hills and it paid off as she led the tournament all week at Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. But when she reached the par-5 18th hole on Sunday, there was no more time for patience. Still trailing Maja Starkey by three, Korda needed to do something to increase the pressure on Starkey as she came down the stretch. He split the fairway with his tee shot and then hit his second shot toward the flag. The shot landed high but went over the green and into a valley. She finished with a bogey and tied for second place.

“When you get that close, and you feel that adrenaline coming down to 18, the one thing you want to do is hold the trophy at the end of the day,” Korda said that day in Wisconsin. “and I’m not.

“Absolutely heartbreaking,” Korda said. “But that’s golf.”

Korda’s 2025 reflects on his four days at Erin Hills. She was very, very good statistically. She was better with the tee and putter in 2025 than her historic 2024 season. His approach numbers are similar, and only his all-around green play was worse.

And yet, it would all have been for nothing if Korda’s final full swing at Erin Hills had landed safely on the putting surface and given him an eagle eye. She would still need to make the putt – she was ranked 52nd in putting that week – and Stark would need to have trouble getting home to have a chance. Stranger things have happened in golf than someone blowing a one or two-stroke lead while trying to wrap up their first major.

A successful comeback attempt at the US Women’s Open would have been the defining moment of Korda’s career so far. A victory that will mean more than any trophy lifted in 2024. The remaining 2025 will be house money.

But Korda’s adrenaline-fueled approach ruined any hopes she had, and she left Wisconsin still in search of the major championship trophy she wants most.

The rest of his season was a combination of good golf and average results. Korda was not a factor at any other major championships, and he finished the season in third place at the Tour Championship, six shots behind Gino Thittikul, who had overtaken Korda to become world No. 1 in August.

It was a year that was difficult for Nelly Korda to explain. He saw it mostly as being on the wrong side of golf’s “fine line”. The bigger picture of the winless season made Korda proud of how she stayed healthy and poured herself into improving her game. All this amounts to zero trophies added in the case of Korda, this is nothing more than the reality of life in an individual game.

“The highs are probably like the greatest spark in my game where I’m just so excited about what I’m doing,” Korda said. “Then there are some shortcomings that every girl here can say, every professional can say, you put so much time and effort into your craft and you don’t play well. You just do it over and over again. Sometimes, you go a little crazy.”

Korda had no wins in 2023 and responded with seven wins in 2024, including five in a row. The 2025 season could have been a rough one for Korda, but it served as a reminder to lean on the people around her to gain a different perspective and focus on what she can control.

“I would just say expectations, listening to the outside noise, really sticking to what I know best, and that’s keeping everything simple,” Korda said.

In the end, 2025 brings questions and a regret for Nelly Korda. He could help change everything.

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