Nelly Korda returns to No. 1 in the world, but can she become LPGA Player of the Year?

Nelly Korda didn’t know that she had returned to No. 1 in the world until someone told her walking off the 18^th green on Monday during a pro-am round.

“I was like, ‘No, you’re joking. How is that possible?’ ” recalled Korda. “So it was a little bit of a shock to me.”

Shocking because neither Jin Young Ko, now No. 2, nor Korda played last week, and it’s strange to think that one can rise to No. 1 without hitting a golf shot. In fact, Korda hasn’t played at all in three weeks. (The Rolex Rankings are based on a two-year rolling period.)

This week’s Pelican Women’s Championship, the penultimate event on the LPGA schedule, takes place Nov. 11-14 Club in Belleair, Florida, and will feature the first of two head-to-head battles between Korda and Ko to round out the 2021 LPGA season.

Korda has won three times on the LPGA, including a major, as well as Olympic gold. Ko, the hottest player in golf, has won four times since July.

“I was pretty dominant in the summer, and now she’s dominant,” said Korda, “so I think that is just how sports go. You kind of pass on the baton in a sense, and someone passes you and you just try to battle it out.”

Korda trails Ko by 15 points in the Hall of Fame race and said she had no idea where she stood in that season-long competition. She did, however, know that she’s not eligible for the Vare Trophy, given to the player with the season’s lowest scoring average. Both awards are worth one point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame (which requires 27 points).

To be eligible for the Vare, players must compete in 70 rounds or 70 percent of official tournament rounds, whichever is less. In this case, that would be 70 rounds.

Neither Korda (currently 15 events, 54 rounds, 69.074 average) nor Ko (17 events, 59 rounds, 69.186) will meet the minimum requirement to be eligible. Lydia Ko, currently fourth on the list at 69.615, is the highest-ranked player who is eligible.

When asked if she considered adding any events late in the year to become eligible, Korda said her schedule was “crazy enough.” She also didn’t realize that she’d be ineligible for the award this year until she read about it in the media.

“I had to pull out last minute from Portland because I just wasn’t feeling well,” said Korda, “and same with Walmart.

“So, no, I don’t think I could have played more events because my body was just so tired. I typically play all the events at the start of the year, and if I play well, then I’ll take some time off, because the traveling in the summer was just so crazy.”

Older sister Jessica said that in her 11 years on the LPGA, she had no idea there was a round minimum for the Vare Trophy. When asked if she felt that minimum should be changed or reconsidered in a year in which several events were canceled due to the global pandemic, Jessica said “100 percent.”

“That’s for other people to decide,” she continued. “We’re just here to play.”

Nelly Korda (USA) bites her gold medal, won in the women’s golf event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021, at the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kawagoe, Japan. Photo by Matt York/Associated Press

The Korda sisters grew up in Bradenton, Florida, and spent a good deal of time competing in junior tournaments around the Tampa Bay area. They’re renting a house this week near the course and brought over food their mother Regina cooked to warm up each night.

Nelly said she drove back to Sarasota after Monday’s pro-am round to spend a little extra time at home.While Jessica did compete in last year’s inaugural Pelican event, Nelly came out as a spectator as she was still dealing with a back injury suffered at the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA.

One year later, she has a chance to further stake her claim as the best of 2021.   A victory at either of the last two events of the season is worth 30 points and second place is worth 12.

“Honestly, I think I’ve always said good golf kind of solves it all in a sense,” said Nelly.

“I’m not going to worry about anything, no trophies, nothing, until I tee up that first shot and hopefully sink that last putt on the 72nd hole.”