Nelly Korda leads the LPGA Vare Trophy race with a scoring average of 69.38, but she can’t qualify because she hasn’t played enough rounds. The award brings one point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame; Korda needs two more to reach the required 27.
The rounds threshold
To qualify for the Vare Trophy, the LPGA requires a player to complete at least 60 total rounds, or 60 percent of official tournament rounds with an individual score, whichever is less. Korda could reach that first threshold if she makes the cut at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, then plays all four rounds of the CME Group Tour Championship. She’d finish the season with 61 rounds in individual events.
The second requirement is 70 total rounds, or 70 percent of total official tournament rounds, whichever is less. Korda played the Dow over the summer, which could lift her total to 65 rounds—five below 70 and still short of the 70 percent threshold in the eligibility rules.
The Lotte Championship in Hawaii is the final LPGA event on U.S. soil until mid-November. Korda isn’t playing in the Oahu tournament. An LPGA official confirmed she hasn’t entered any of the four events on the fall Asia swing; their fields have closed.
Korda last competed at the Solheim Cup. She’s taking a break and is next expected to play at The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, where she’s a three-time winner. The source identifies her as the world No. 1.
Other routes to a Hall point
The LPGA Player of the Year Award also brings one Hall of Fame point. Korda leads Haeran Ryu in that race by 75 points. She could also earn a point by winning either of her last two tournament starts.
Korda has played 15 LPGA events in 2026 and skipped both the spring and fall Asia swings. She typically plays the unofficial Grant Thornton Invitational and PNC Championship in December, extending her schedule to Christmas. She won’t play in the new WTGL.
Korda is a two-time major winner this season, but her scoring average alone doesn’t earn her the Vare Trophy or its Hall point. The award rules require players to meet both the scoring and rounds standards, leaving the scoring leader ineligible when her schedule falls short.
Earlier cases under the same rule
This isn’t Korda’s first time missing a Hall of Fame point because she fell short of the rounds requirement. In 2021, she led the tour in scoring but didn’t play enough rounds to win the award. Since 1992, the tour’s leading scorer has missed the Vare Trophy seven times: Nancy Lopez in 1993, Laura Davies in 1996, Annika Sorenstam in 2003 and 2004, Sei Young Kim in 2020, Korda in 2021 and Jeeno Thitikul in 2024.
In 2021, Lydia Ko realized that skipping the Pelican event would leave her one round short of Vare Trophy eligibility, so she re-entered. She ultimately won the award and its Hall of Fame point. Three players ahead of her on that year’s scoring list couldn’t qualify: Korda at 69.074, Jin Young Ko at 69.186 and Inbee Park at 69.534.
Lydia Ko earned her 27th Hall of Fame point by winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Korda’s next scheduled event is The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, where she could add rounds toward eligibility; the season’s remaining starts also offer chances to earn points through the player-of-the-year race or a tournament victory.