Nelly Korda shows her class in LPGA season opener to finish second despite just 4% winning chance in round three

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The LPGA season is underway for 2025 and it looks very much like we could be seeing plenty of world number one Nelly Korda again.

Korda enjoyed a remarkable season in 2024, winning seven events, including a five-run stretch of wins that is rarely seen in the entire sport, never mind just on the LPGA.

Now, with 2025 getting underway at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, Korda has once again made sure she’s in the conversation again.

• READ MORE: The five best golf shots of 2024 across the PGA, LIV and LPGA tours

Korda couldn’t quite get the win this time, as A Lim Kim managed to pick up the win and in the end, just keep Korda at bay.

However, while Korda came home in second, it’s worth noting a remarkable statistic that shows just why she is so good.

The stat that shows why Nelly Korda is world number one

Nelly Korda is undoubtedly the best female golfer in the world right now and while there was no victory on the opening weekend this time, her charge to nearly catch Kim was stunning.

Indeed, approaching the end of round three, Korda was actually nowhere near being in contention.

So much so, that golf journalist Justin Ray shared a stat to show that with just three holes of round three to play, Korda actually only had a 4% chance of winning.

Korda had started slowly in round three but going into her back nine – the front nine of the course – she caught fire, making four birdies in the last five holes, including the final three holes, to propel herself into contention.

In the end, it proved too much of a mountain to climb as Kim won by two but Korda will very much be happy with her early form.

Nelly Korda can dominate again after impressing PGA Tour pros

While the LPGA is getting stronger and stronger, Nelly Korda is very much like Scottie Scheffler in that if you beat her, you’ve a big chance of winning the whole tournament.

Korda has impressed everyone in golf really with how good she is, including some PGA Tour players.

Jason Day admitted that Korda had caught his eye, while Daniel Berger was left blown away by Korda at the Grant Thornton last year.

“Well, she hits her seven iron about as far as I hit my seven iron,” Berger said at the time.

“There was a couple times where I hit one in there yesterday and I looked in her bag and she was hitting the same club I was hitting and I was like wow. It’s just impressive all around.”

With such an impressive golf game in general and the ability to hit it as far as some of the PGA Tour pros, then it would be of little surprise to see Korda win even more in 2025 than she did last year.