Nelly Korda did not win in 2025 but she got something important

Naples, FLANE The strike was clean, a little club twirl ensued and the ball landed 25 yards from the PIN. His birdie attempt tracked midway through the cup, but he was dead at the second last, leaving him to finish with a par in a perfect resurgence of a lackluster season.

Nelly Korda was there it’s amazingly good In 2025, but not at the level many expected after seven wins.

“It’s been an interesting year I would say,” Korda said at his pre-tournament conference earlier at the CME Group Tour Championship. “It’s good; there was a really good light; there was a flownies light, I don’t know what just happened.”

It would be easy to focus on one number when it comes to Korda. From getting seven to zero while dropping to No. 2 in the world would suggest that his game has taken a step back. That the LPGA superstar returned to the pack in 2025. But using wins as a barometer alone in each game can be misleading.

“Honestly,” Korda said. “It sometimes comes down to the shot. It’s like puttingt the lips and you don’t get your momentum. It’s such a fine line when it comes to golf.

“I don’t think I’m a worse golfer or a better golfer. I would say every year last year there was a lot of gounce stuff.

Korda’s figures in this part slowed down a bit, but not to the point that his game fell.

He finished the 2025 season with a better scoring average, better strokes gained: off the tee, better birdie or better percentage of avoiding better than that, and his dressing was better. His perimeter numbers were the only ones to drop significantly, going from 0.42 averages to 0.13. His 4 strikeouts were the same as his 5 goals was a 4.55 mark, out of 450. He still leads the LPGA in that category.

“He has better statistics than last year, but he didn’t win and he won seven, eight last year,” said Lydia Kowa about Korda. “Sometimes the math just isn’t. Like if you did that you’d think, okay, you can win x amount of times. There are 143 other players playing.”

This week in Naples, Korda repeatedly used the line “Lolo Luful” to describe an unreal season. He called it “grit.” But the world No. 2 She also revealed that it was a frustrating time that saw her run to the finish line at the US Women’s open and fail to reach the winner’s circle.

Professional Golf can be divisive. A period of burnt edges and bad bounces can cause many to turn inward and second, to decline in a wasted year. But Korda took it this season — and last — as a reminder that he doesn’t have to carry it all on his shoulders. That those who are closest have incomparable value.

“I’d say you get a lot of criticism when you’re on top of the game, and you’ve got a tight circle, you’re very thankful for the people you have,” Korda said. “The circle gets smaller, but I think I have an amazing circle. I can say that I am very lucky with the people I have. At the end of the day, it is very important to have stability in your life.

“I can say that what I have learned about myself this year is that it is okay to lean on others when things are not going well,” Korda added. “By all means.

This season led Korda to come in, sometimes very willingly, to those in his circle. But their opinion wasn’t worth it in helping him see the rest of the season that won’t even come with a win.

“And they’re a good reminder,” Korda said to his team. “They see things differently than I do. And they’ve been around me for so long. I think it’s your whole team when you talk to your closest team.”

That idea led Korda to be happy with the improvement he has seen in parts of his game, his clean and clever deception and the price of what he poured into his game and body, even if the desired result did not come.

“When it comes to the level of effort I’ve given this game I’d probably give it more this year – every year I give it more. “There’s no lack of effort honestly in any department.”

When Korda teed off Sunday at Tiburon Golf Club, he finished his season in third place, six shots behind the nation’s No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul, the same margin started. Korda entered on Sunday and needs to walk as far as possible to catch thitikul. He went one-over 37 before racking up three birdies and an eagle from the hole on the back nine to close out his season.

As has been the case since his time on Sunday at the season-opening Champions League came up just short, Nelly Korda came up short but didn’t stick. It served as a monument to remind us of how great they are, and he went on to reveal an era of great golf results and disappointing results.

But as scary as Korda’s unreal timing is, there’s nothing better than EBB and the flow of professional golf.

In 2017, Rory McIlroy, who had won seven times in two years, did not win and dropped to 11th in the world. He said he played through a grip injury, but still finished T7 in the men’s and T4 in the open, so he was good enough to compete; he didn’t just win. From November 2019 to May 2021, McIlroy went 25 events and fell to No. 9 in the world. He rose again to return to No. 1 in the world and has won 12 times worldwide since.

Korda will almost be back. Wins are sure to come back. Talent and drive is too much for them not. And the season 2025 may rise to be the carlyst of Korda’s next flood, because the fire was stirring and a simple reminder was brought – Nelly Korda should not do it alone.

“It just hit, honestly,” Korda said of the season. “I played really great golf. Played Iffy Golf. Think every year.

“I am very grateful for the people around me.”

“>