Regarded as the youngest ever World No. 1, at just 17, Lydia Ko has achieved success at an early age. Her journey since then has been nothing short of remarkable. Especially, the year 2024 stands out as the most incredible year of her career, considering the back-to-back wins she secured this year.

The 27-year-old secured an impressive 3 LPGA Tour wins, including the Major win at the AIG Women’s Open. Well, that’s not all as her talent shines beyond the greens of the LPGA Tour.  This year has felt like a fairy tale for her, as she even made her name in the Paris Olympics by securing a gold medal. And as if that wasn’t enough, she’s now among 35 women to be inducted into the LPGA Hall of Fame—what a year to celebrate!

But here’s the twist. While she takes all the praise and accolades for her tremendous performance, Nelly Korda, on the other hand, is making waves of her own. The World No. 1 also dominated the year with her own impressive six victories—including two major championships. Given her record, she has taken a firm grip on the Player of the Year race, and it’s hard not to notice how her achievements could overshadow Ko’s.

The long-time play-by-play broadcaster, Grant Boone, recently stirred up speculation on his X handle, claiming, “Nelly Korda will win her first LPGA Player of the Year Award.” And well, Boone’s stats do carry some weight.

Will Nelly Korda eclipse Lydia Ko’s perfect year?

Counting on Boone’s stats and Korda’s record alone, it’s hard to say that Ko stands anywhere near Korda in this race of winning the POY Award. Boone laid it out pretty clearly, that Ko has only two more events left to play, which makes her chances of winning the award very slim. In fact, for Ayaka Furue to even tie with Korda, she would have to win her remaining four events, which just shows how far ahead Korda really is.

Ko has had an incredible year, no doubt about it, but when it comes to her comparison with the World No. 1 side by side, it’s hard to ignore the gap. Considering the current season, for instance, Korda has won more times than any of her peers on the LPGA Tour. Meanwhile, with Ko’s three victories, it’s tough to see how she could catch up to Korda’s pace right now.

As the season comes to a close, all eyes are on Korda to see if she can claim her first Player of the Year award, or if Ko will turn the game in her favor. Either way, this race is far from over, and one thing is guaranteed—entertainment. What do you think? Will Korda maintain her lead, or could Ko stage a late-season comeback? Let us know in the comments!