Nelly Korda went into the final round of the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews on Sunday hoping to win her third major title. Instead, it was Lydia Ko who won her third major title as Korda blew her lead just before the end. The world’s best player had a two-shot lead with five holes to play, but an unfortunate series of bad shots ultimately cost her the title.

Korda made a double bogey on the par-5 14th hole and suddenly found himself in a tight race with three other hitters.

“I had 58 degrees and it just shot at me. The wedge shot I had across the green was kind of stuck in a little bit of a hole with some of the – whatever you call it, the ‘hay’ or whatever you call it – behind it,” Korda said after her round.

“I just couldn’t catch it cleanly and then obviously missed the putt, which resulted in a bogey.”

The field had to contend with brutal conditions, with winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour. But such is life in links golf, especially on the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Despite this, Korda still had a chance to win. But her fate was sealed on the 17th when she dropped another shot.

“Look, this is golf. I’m going to mess up, and unfortunately I messed up twice over the weekend, which ended up resulting in two penalties. In theory, it cost me the tournament, but I played well.”

Of course, sharing second place in a major championship is nothing to be laughed at.

Nelly Korda’s historic LPGA season comes to an end

Nelly Korda is undoubtedly one of the best golfers in the world, male or female. That is undeniable. Korda won five consecutive events in 2024, making her only the third woman in history to do so. Only Byron Nelson (11), Tiger Woods (7) and Ben Hogan (6) have surpassed that among men.

Although Ko won Olympic gold and the AIG Women’s Open, Korda still leads the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings by an unassailable margin. She has 487.52 points. The next golfer is Lilia Vu with 348 points, while Ko is in third place with 292.49 points.

Essentially, Korda already has the Player of the Year award in the bag. Even though this season is coming to an end, Korda wants to use this momentum heading into the 2024 Solheim Cup next month.

“I played really well this week and hope that things are now heading in the right direction again.”

The European team has won the 2023 Solheim Cup, the LPGA version of the Ryder Cup. Korda, Vu and Co. want to avenge this defeat.