KORDA & ZHANG SQUARE OFF AT MIZUHO AMERICAS

Nelly Korda-2021 Womens PGA- Titleist.com

Although most of the golf world–at least the male golf world–will be tuned into the PGA Tour’s second major of the season, the PGA Championship at fabled Valhalla, many of us will have an eye on the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. When Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda tees it up this weekend– after a disappointing finish to her record-tying run of five wins in five starts last weekend, she’ll have to contend with defending champion Rose Zhang, who is coming off her first win of 2024 at the Cognizant Founders Cup.  

Rose Zhang- 2023 Mizuho- Getty

When Rose Zhang turned professional in 2023, she joined the LPGA Tour with almost as much fanfare and hype as Caitlin Clark’s entry to the WNBA generated. Zhang didn’t disappoint either, as she was the first player to win their first professional start on the LPGA Tour since Hinako Shibuno won the 2019 AIG Women’s Open. That win at the Mizuho Americas Open is the turf she'll be defending this weekend. Although she didn’t win again during her rookie season, she picked up four other top-ten finishes, with three of those coming in LPGA majors.

Zhang- 2024 Founders Cup- Seth Wenig-AP.

In 2024, Zhang has had mixed results, much like she did during her rookie season. In addition to last weekend’s win, she has posted two top-ten finishes: Tie-5^th at the T-Mobile Match Play in April, and tie-7^th at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January. She has also missed two cuts: The Ford Championship in March, and in the first LPGA major, the Chevron Championship in April. At this point of Zhang’s budding career (she’s only 20-years-old!), consistency seems to be her holy grail.

Korda- 2024-Chevron-David-j-Phillip-AP

In contrast, at age-25, Nelly Korda has been a paragon of consistency in 2024, finishing in the top-20 in each of her seven starts, including a stretch of five consecutive wins, which ended with Rose’s win last weekend the Founders. Korda, who claimed the Chevron where Zhang missed the cut, was not a model of consistency last season finishing in the top-ten in eight of 18 events played, with no wins. We can likely attribute her uneven performances over the past two years to health issues that seem to have been resolved.

Hannah Green- 2024 HSBC Womens Open- Getty 

Although Korda and Zhang are a pair to keep an eye on this weekend, Hannah Green, the only other player on the LPGA Tour to win multiple times this season, is an enigma worth following as well. She has two top-ten finishes in seven starts, and both were wins at the HSBC Women's World Championship in February and the JM Eagle LA Championship in April (she also won this event in 2023). Her next best finish of the season was last weekend’s tie-18^th at the Founders. She has been outside the top-20 in her other four starts. It’s hard to tell which Hannah Green will show up from week to week, but she has shown that she knows how to win when in contention.

Lydia Ko-2024 TOC- Julio Aguilar-Getty

None of the season’s other winners appear to be in form, including Lydia Ko who began the season getting her first win since the CME Group Tour Championship in November of 2022. Ko, just one win away from induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame, came close in the season’s second tourney, claiming 2^nd in the LPGA Drive On Championship in January, but hasn’t really threatened a win since finishing 4^th at the Blue Bay LPGA in March. Given her history of winning, despite recent performances, Ko must be included as a possible winner of the Mizuho Americas Open.

Madelene Sagstrom- 2024 Founders Cup-Getty

It'll also be interesting to see if Madelene Sagstrom will continue her elevated play this weekend. Her last two starts have resulted in a tie-8^th at the JM Eagle and solo-2^nd to Zhang at the Founders. She’s definitely trending in the right direction and may be poised to add to her victory tally which stands at one to date.

As has been shown throughout the years of professional golf, you never know who will rise to the occasion from week to week, but with the potential of a rivalry shaping up between World No.1 Nelly Korda and World No.6 Rose Zhang, it will be an intriguing weekend at the Mizuho Americas Open this weekend.