Nelly Korda in Tight Contest for AIG Women’s Open Title

On the closing round of the AIG Women’s Open, the event at the legendary Old Course at St Andrews, an event most women golfers would kill to win, is one of the most open and promising of the 2024 LPGA Tour season that is coming to an end. Jiyai Shin, the 2015 and 2019 champion, is leading with one stroke, while there are three more participants, the 2023 victor, Lilia Vu, the multiple time major winner, Nelly Korda, as well as the 2019 champion, who is one stroke behind her. All athletes are very close to each other and have equal opportunities to win the fourth round.

Key contenders and their journey

Already widely known as the best golfer in major championships, a category of contests she claimed twice, Jiyai Shin is a frequent guest in St Andrews and always shows impressive results. According to LPGA, last year, she won bronze medal here, and this year, in the six-contests she stroked in, Shin is now very close to her third silver. At the same time, when she has not yet become another major, she is in one pair with Vu, trying to repeat her performance of 2010 and 2011, as this tournament has not had such a lucky welsher since then. In the third round, Vu fell out on the sight hole, wasted time, and occasionally entered double bogey; meanwhile, the dannie she showed was enough for her to almost reach it, and at the same time – for many others to move up.

Following the 2021 season, Nelly Korda has been declining, so last year, she won the diamond for the sixth place in a row. After winning the first two rounds, the third-round leader declined, and now the ranking has slightly improved, but it is still far from perfect. At the same time, the first number of the world rating still has to reckon with at the AIG Women’s Open. Lydia Ko, who is one of the few golfers counted in all four rounds, is in another pair and not alone in eighth place. In addition, last month she won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, so she is in perfect start form to win her first major since 2016. So it is unclear who is the favourite of the final round and what will happen at the St Andrews famous for its not easy circumstances.

Implications and Future Trends

If Shin or Vu win this tournament, they will not give others hopes of major career and show they can win any of them one more time. If Korda or Ko won, they will demonstrate that minor victories last year were a temporary failure. At the same time, it will not only determine career paths of the aforementioned celebrities but also provide an example of how to prepare for a tournament for other female golfers. As for other participants, including Jennifer Shiin and Jeeno Thitikul, who are only two strokes adrift and may win the first major, it is an opportunity to experience new emotions and thoughts and inspire new stars in the future.

As the final round and the tournament is coming to the end, all golfers must be ready for processions’ challenges. The final round of this championship is likely to be a determining point of the 2024 LPGA season. At the same time, it is almost impossible to say what form will golfers have and how they are going to play. What is going to happen will surely have an impact on their future careers and the future of women’s golf in general. The main strokes are going to be performed, and one or a couple of them can provide participants with fame and opportunities to win other major tournaments. The time has come to watch it happen.