LPGA Midseason Review: Nelly Korda Leads, Haeran Ryu Shines as Season Remains Competitive

The LPGA Tour has reached the midpoint of its season with something every professional tour wants: a dominant star at the top, real depth behind her and enough unfinished business to make the second half feel wide open.

Nelly Korda has again been the player every leaderboard seems to orbit around. She has built a commanding lead in the Race to the CME Globe, piled up four victories in nine starts and continued to show why she remains the measuring stick in women’s golf. But the best part of the LPGA’s first half is that the season has not belonged to one player alone.

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Haeran Ryu broke through for her first major championship at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Hyo Joo Kim has quietly stayed in position near the top of the season-long race. Jeeno Thitikul, Miyu Yamashita, Hannah Green and others have helped keep the tour’s global strength front and center.

That is what has made the first half of 2026 so compelling. Korda has created separation, but the LPGA itself still feels anything but settled.

Midseason Report

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The LPGA Tour at a Glance

A dominant No. 1, a new major champion and a second half loaded with meaningful golf.

3,412.625

Race to CME Globe points for Nelly Korda

4

Korda wins in nine starts

$13M

Record KPMG Women’s PGA purse

2

Majors remaining as of July 1, 2026

Nelly Korda Still Sets the Standard

At the halfway point, the easiest story to tell is the one at the top.

Korda leads the Race to the CME Globe with 3,412.625 points, well ahead of Hyo Joo Kim, Haeran Ryu, Jeeno Thitikul and Miyu Yamashita. That gap matters because it reflects more than one good week or one hot stretch. It speaks to the consistency, star power and competitive weight Korda continues to bring to the LPGA Tour every time she tees it up.

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Korda has already won four times in nine starts this season and captured two majors, keeping her firmly in control of the conversation around Player of the Year, the Race to the CME Globe and the overall direction of the tour. She is not simply winning. She is forcing the rest of the LPGA to measure itself against a player who has become the standard in women’s golf.

That is the thing about great players. Their presence changes the way an entire season feels. When Korda is in contention, the leaderboard has a different electricity. When she is a few shots back, there is still a sense that she can close the gap quickly. When she is leading, the rest of the field knows it will likely take something special to catch her.

That kind of competitive gravity is rare, and it is one of the reasons the first half of the LPGA season has had such a strong central figure.

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Haeran Ryu Changed the Tone at Hazeltine

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National was exactly what the LPGA needed at this point in the year.

Korda entered the week with history still part of the conversation, but Ryu left with the trophy. Ryu’s victory was her first major championship win, and it came in a way that made the moment feel even more meaningful. She won by two shots over Ina Yoon, finished at 13 under and earned $1.95 million from a record-setting $13 million purse.

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That combination matters. A young international star breaking through at a historic venue, in a major championship, with the largest purse in women’s golf history attached to the week, gave the LPGA a powerful midseason statement.

Ryu had been trending toward this kind of moment for a while. She was not some surprise name who caught lightning for four days. She had already established herself as one of the game’s most consistent young players, and Hazeltine felt more like confirmation than arrival.

For the tour, it also gave the second half of the season a different texture. Korda remains the front-runner, but Ryu is now a major champion sitting third in the Race to the CME Globe. That makes her one of the most important players to watch the rest of the way.

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The International Depth Remains the LPGA’s Greatest Strength

One of the best things about the LPGA Tour is that it never feels small.

The top of the Race to the CME Globe tells the story. Korda represents the United States. Hyo Joo Kim and Haeran Ryu represent South Korea. Jeeno Thitikul represents Thailand. Miyu Yamashita represents Japan. Hannah Green represents Australia. Lottie Woad represents England.

That is not a footnote. That is the identity of the tour.

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The LPGA has long been the most globally layered major professional golf tour, and 2026 has continued to showcase that strength. Every week feels like an international championship. Different styles of play collide. Different developmental systems are represented. Different personalities emerge. The result is a tour that feels broader, deeper and more unpredictable than almost anything else in professional golf.

It also gives the LPGA a storytelling advantage. Fans are not watching one country dominate. They are watching a world tour in the truest sense. The best players are coming from everywhere, and the competition has become stronger because of it.

For young girls watching from the United States, South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Australia, England or anywhere else, the message is powerful: there is more than one pathway to the top of the game.

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That is good for the LPGA. It is also good for golf.

The Season Has More Than One Defining Storyline

Korda’s dominance and Ryu’s breakthrough are the headline stories, but they are not the only ones.

Hyo Joo Kim has quietly put together the kind of season that can get overlooked only because Korda has been so good. Thitikul remains one of the most complete players in the women’s game. Yamashita continues to be a major factor. Green has again shown why she belongs in any conversation about the LPGA’s most reliable performers.

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There have also been important moments beyond the biggest names. Gina Kim and Yana Wilson teamed up to win the Dow Championship. Yamashita won the Meijer LPGA Classic. Dewi Weber’s major run at Hazeltine gave the Netherlands a historic top-five moment in a women’s major and added another layer to a championship that already had plenty of them.

That is what makes the LPGA’s first half so strong. It has not been built on one storyline alone. It has had dominance, breakthrough, youth, global depth, major championship pressure and meaningful money moments that show the continued growth of the women’s game.

For a tour trying to keep building momentum, that matters.

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Season Race

Race to CME Globe Snapshot

The players shaping the LPGA Tour’s second-half conversation.

1

Nelly Korda
United States

Clear standard

2

Hyo Joo Kim
South Korea

Quietly steady

3

Haeran Ryu
South Korea

Major breakthrough

4

Jeeno Thitikul
Thailand

Still dangerous

5

Miyu Yamashita
Japan

Rising factor

The Second Half Could Be Even Better

The LPGA now turns toward a second half that still has plenty at stake.

The Amundi Evian Championship is scheduled for July 9-12 at Evian Resort Golf Club in France, followed later in the month by the ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open from July 23-26. The season then returns to major championship golf with the AIG Women’s Open from July 30-Aug. 2 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, setting the stage for what could be a defining stretch of the year.

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For Korda, the stakes are obvious. She has already built an outstanding season, but the opportunity to add another major championship and further strengthen her case for Player of the Year remains very much within reach. For Ryu, the question is whether her victory at Hazeltine becomes the defining moment of her season or simply the first chapter of an even bigger breakthrough.

Meanwhile, players like Hyo Joo Kim, Jeeno Thitikul, Miyu Yamashita and Hannah Green remain well-positioned to make their own runs as the Race to the CME Globe begins to tighten.

That is what makes the LPGA so compelling right now. Korda has created separation at the top, but the season itself feels anything but decided. There are too many elite players, too many significant events remaining and too much talent throughout the field to assume the second half will simply follow the script established during the first few months.

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The Race to the CME Globe will eventually narrow toward the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, but there is still a tremendous amount of meaningful golf left to be played. Between two major championships, a strong international schedule and the growing pressure that accompanies every late-season start, the LPGA appears poised for a memorable finish.

What Comes Next

Five Questions That Will Define the LPGA’s Second Half

1. Can anyone close the gap on Nelly Korda?

She has separation, but the biggest events still carry plenty of weight.

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2. Does Haeran Ryu build on Hazeltine?

A first major can be a career moment or the start of something larger.

3. Who becomes the next breakout winner?

The LPGA’s depth makes every leaderboard feel capable of producing a new name.

4. Which major shifts the season?

Evian and the AIG Women’s Open can still redefine the year.

5. Who arrives in Naples with momentum?

The CME Group Tour Championship remains the final measuring stick.

Final Thoughts

At midseason, the LPGA Tour is in a strong place.

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It has a true No. 1 in Korda. It has a newly crowned major champion in Ryu. It has international depth that continues to separate it from so much of the professional golf landscape. It has young stars, proven winners and a second-half schedule with enough meaningful golf left to change the entire tone of the year.

The first half of 2026 reminded us who the standard is.

The second half may tell us how many players are ready to chase her down.

PGA of America Golf Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer who serves as Athlon Sports Senior Golf Writer. Read his recent “The Starter” on R.org, where he is their Lead Golf Writer. To stay updated on all of his latest work, sign up for his newsletter or visit his MuckRack Profile.

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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Golf section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.