Established in 2014, the Rolex ANNIKA Major Award has now seen 10 winners after Nelly Korda won the accolade for the 2024 season. However, it was just not Korda who had a phenomenal year with a historic 5 consecutive wins, Lydia Ko had sensational dominance on the greens too. So why wasn’t she awarded this prestigious prize? Well, the answer lies in the criteria for winning this award.

The Rolex ANNIKA Major Award (RAMA) recognizes the player who, during a current LPGA Tour season, has the most outstanding Major Championship record. One might think that Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko had one major victory after Ko won the AIG Women’s Open at St.Andrews. However, the award also takes the performance in all the major tournaments into account. After winning the Chevron Championship, Korda missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. But she bounced back with a T26 finish at the Amundi Evian Championship and a stunning tied T2 finish at the AIG Women’s Open.

As for Ko, she finished T7 at the Chevron Championship. Surprisingly, she also missed the weekend at the U.S. Women’s Open and barely made it to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. What possibly made the difference was both golfers’ finishes at the Amundi Evian Championship, where Ko finished T39, 13 positions behind the world number 1. Nelly Korda accumulated 84 points this year while Ko had 60 points in the Rolex Annika Major Award standings.

While she was only 24 points behind this time, Lydia Ko had already won this prestigious award back in 2016, a year before Korda’s rookie year. Interestingly, 2016 was a similar year for Ko, as she secured a major victory at the 2016 Chevron Championship. However, her performances in other majors were exceptional. As a result, Lydia Ko accumulated a total of 102 points in the RAMA standings. Even if Ko didn’t win the Annika Award, she has achieved other significant accomplishments this year.

Why will this year still be called glorious for Lydia Ko?

Ko started this year with a victory at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. After this, she was just one point shy of the LPGA Hall of Fame induction. Just after that, the golfer finished second in the LPGA Drive-On Championship. Then in Paris, she beautifully completed her medal trifecta by clinching the gold and a very precious 1 point, which made her an LPGA Hall of Fame inductee.

Now, she has claimed the last major of the season, the AIG Women’s Open Lydia Ko, and with this, she now has two wins on the LPGA Tour this season. Besides her notable victories, Lydia Ko also achieved four top-10 finishes. Unfortunately, the ANNIKA Award doesn’t consider the Olympics or other finishes. If it did, the race might have been more competitive and interesting. Despite missing out on the ANNIKA award, this year remains one of the most glorious years for the 27-year-old, and it has also pushed retirement off her mind. 

What are your thoughts on Nelly Korda winning the Rolex Annika Major Award this time? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!