JERSEY CITY – Seven top-10 golfers in the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings will tee off under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty this weekend for the third edition of the Mizuho Americas Open at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City.
Nelly Korda won last year’s tournament in thrilling fashion, narrowly defeating Hannah Green by one stroke in a tournament that came down to the final hole. Korda will look to defend her title this year, while Green will look to avenge last year’s close loss. Additionally, three of last year’s four third-place finishers will compete at Liberty National again this year. Jennifer Kupcho, Gabriela Ruffels, and Chanettee Wannasaen will aim to improve on their 2024 finish.
Defending Champion Looks to Get Back on Track
Nelly Korda’s 2024 campaign was one for the record books, literally. She won seven events, including a streak of five consecutive wins that tied an LPGA record last year.
While still early in the season, 2025, however, has not been as kind to the current world number one. Korda has managed only two top-10 finishes, a second-place showing at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January, and a tie for seventh place at the Founders Cup presented by the U.S. Virgin Islands in February.
In her last outing at The Chevron Championship, one of her seven wins last year, Korda barely made the cut after carding a second-round -4 after playing to a +5 after the first round. She finished the tournament at 2-under-par, good enough for a tie for 14th.
While she is still at or near the top in multiple statistical categories, as shown at the Chevron Championship, consistency may be the name of the game for Korda. While she leads the LPGA with a 68.8 scoring average per round, consistent scoring across all rounds seems to be an issue so far in 2025. When broken down by round, Korda has seemed to struggle more at the beginning and end of tournaments, where she averages a 70 (27th) and a 69.4 (20th) respectively, while in rounds two and three, Korda averages a 67.2 (1st) and a 68.6 (8th) respectively.
Korda took this past weekend off before beginning her title defense in Jersey City.
Thitikul Looking to Continue Recent Success
At number two in the world, Jeeno Thitikul will be looking to continue her early-season success at the Mizuho Americas Open.
The Thai has five top-10 finishes in 2025, which currently leads the LPGA and has finished in the top-25 in all of her starts this year. Thitikul’s top-10 finishes include a third-place finish at the Honda LPGA Thailand and a tie for second place at the HSBC Women’s World Championship.
Additionally, Thitikul had a strong 2024 campaign that included two championships and 12 top-10s. Perhaps the highlight of 2024 for Thitikul was her win at the CME Group Tour Championship in November.
Statistically, Thitikul has been doing well so far in 2025. She is number three in scoring average per round with an average score of 69.08 and is second in birdie, or better, percentage. Additionally, Thitikul is currently performing quite well overall when compared to the rest of the field, as evidenced by the fact that she is currently number two in the LPGA in total strokes gained.
Last year in Jersey City, Thitikul finished in a tie for seventh place and held a lead after day two at Liberty National. This year, Thitikul will look to be the leader after the end of play on Sunday.
Ko Looking to Change Her Fortunes at Liberty National
After finishing in a tie for 33rd in 2023 and missing the cut in 2024, Lydia Ko will be looking to reverse her fortunes in Jersey City this year, and she might be in a good spot to do just that.
Ko had an up-and-down first half to 2024, but the current world number three, who hails from New Zealand, really turned things on in August. While not an official LPGA Tour event, Ko started her hot stretch at the Olympics, where she captured gold in the individual stroke play competition. In addition to winning gold for New Zealand, her Olympic win also earned her a spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame.
She followed up her gold in Paris with a first-place finish at the AIG Women’s Open at the famed Old Course at St. Andrews later in August, followed by another first-place finish at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G in mid-September. Finally, in November, Ko finished in third at the CME Group Tour Championship.
Ko has kept the momentum going to this point in 2025. She has recorded three top-10 finishes in six starts, including a first-place finish at the HSBC Women’s World Championship this past February.
While she has had a good start to 2025, Ko’s biggest challenge at Liberty National could be accuracy. She is 101st in the LPGA in greens in regulation percentage and, although the stat can be misleading in certain instances, is 31st in drive accuracy percentage. However, Ko has made up for those less-than-stellar statistics in her ability to recover when things go awry. She is number one on the LPGA Tour in scrambling, number two in sand saves, and has still managed to rank third in bogey avoidance.
While Ko has dropped off a bit in her two most recent tournament appearances, she will look to contend at this year’s Mizuho Americas Open.
Parity in the LPGA Could Lead to Excitement in Jersey City
While golfers like Ko, Korda, and Thitikul have earned the right to be considered as favorites in Jersey City this year, the fact is, with the amount of parity in the LPGA, it is hard to pick a clear-cut favorite to win at Liberty National.
It is not out realm of possibility that another top-10 golfer such as Lauren Coughlin, Hannah Green, Haeran Ryu, or Ruoning Yin could make a run for a title in Jersey City. Checking in at number 10 in the world, Coughlin has three top-10 finishes to her credit so far this season, including a tie for third at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro and a second-place finish at the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards. At number five in the world, Ryu has two top-10 places so far in 2025 including a win at the inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion this past weekend. Ryu was also the 2023 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year. Sitting at number seven in the world, Green has three top-10 finishes in 2025 and was the runner-up at the Mizuho Americas Open last year. Lastly, Yin, ranked fourth in the world, finished tied for second place at this year’s Chevron Championship after falling in a playoff to Mao Saigo, who is also scheduled to compete in Jersey City this weekend. Yin also won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield in 2023.
In addition, all 10 tournaments that have been contested so far this year have seen 10 different winners, and eight of those 10 tournament champions will be competing at the Mizuho Americas Open. Furthermore, of the 10 tournaments that have been played, four have seen first-time winners, and all four will be teeing off at Liberty National this weekend.
Finally, while the Mizuho Americas Open has had a short history, it has been an exciting one. In addition to Korda’s one-stroke win over Green last year, the Mizuho Americas Open inaugural tournament in 2023 saw Rose Zhang, who will be back at Liberty National this year, become the first player since Beverly Hanson in 1951 to win in her pro debut on the LPGA Tour.
What About the AJGA Side of the Tournament?
Unique to the Mizuho Americas Open, 24 junior golfers from the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) will participate alongside the LPGA players.
Gianna Clemente, currently ranked number two in the junior girls’ world rankings, will be returning to Jersey City this year to defend her 2024 title. Her competition will be stiff again this year as the Mizuho Americas Open showcases 24 of the best junior golfers in the world. World number one, Asterisk Talley, and world number three, Avery McCrery, will most likely be Clemente’s biggest competition, but much like the LPGA tournament, the AJGA tournament is also wide open.
Finally, for Garden State rooting interests, Aphrodite Deng, who represents Canada but hails from Short Hills, will be competing in Jersey City this weekend. She is ranked fourth on the AJGA circuit, finished 13th at last year’s Mizuho Americas Open, but is coming off a win at the 2025 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in March.
Happy Birthday LPGA
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the LPGA. The LPGA was founded in 1950 when 13 women, Alice Bauer, Marlene Bauer Hagge, Patty Berg, Bettye Danoff, Helen Dettweiler, Helen Hicks, Opal Hill, Betty Jameson, Sally Sessions, Marilynn Smith, Shirley Spork, Louise Suggs and Babe Didrikson Zaharias–more commonly referred to as “the Founders”–started the league to provide women with the opportunity to play golf professionally.
Since 1950, the LPGA has grown from just 15, U.S.-based events with just $40,250 in total prize money to 32 official events spread around the world with almost $130 million in total prize money. Also, the LPGA Tour has grown from its original 13 members to 243 athletes from around the world.
Lastly, at 75, the LPGA is the oldest, continuously operating women’s sports league in the United States.
The 2025 rendition of the Mizuho Americas Open will tee off on Thursday at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City. Tickets for the tournament can be purchased by visiting mizuhoamericasopen.com/tickets, or the broadcast of the tournament can be seen on the Golf Channel.
Note: This story has been updated to reflect changes in the Rolex Women’s Golf World Rankings following the Black Desert Championship.
