Korda and Ryu can't win the Vare Trophy, leaving Miyu Yamashita in front

The two lowest scorers on the LPGA this season won't get the Vare Trophy. Golfweek's Beth Ann Nichols reported Tuesday that Nelly Korda and Haeran Ryu will both finish short of the 70-round minimum, which leaves Japan's Miyu Yamashita leading the eligible field with two events to play.

Ryu withdrew from last week's Maybank Championship in Malaysia before the first round. The Associated Press reported she strained a finger ligament riding in a golf cart during Wednesday's pro-am. She has 61 rounds and, with The Annika and the CME Group Tour Championship left, only eight more possible. That leaves her one short.

Korda is in the middle of a two-month break and returns next week at The Annika. She has played 53 rounds and can't reach 70.

The scoring race, top five

These are the LPGA's season scoring averages as of Tuesday:

Yamashita gave herself some breathing room last week. She won the Maybank at 22 under, two shots clear of Yan Liu, for her third LPGA win of the season. She's No. 4 in the world.

Why it matters

The Vare goes to the lowest scoring average and comes with a point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame. Korda has been here before. She led the tour in scoring in 2021 and didn't play enough rounds to win it.

Golfweek counts seven times since 1992 that the tour's leading scorer missed out: Nancy Lopez in 1993, Laura Davies in 1996, Annika Sorenstam in 2003 and 2004, Sei Young Kim in 2020, Korda in 2021 and Jeeno Thitikul in 2024. That 2021 race went to Lydia Ko, who put herself back in the Pelican field after realizing she'd be a round short.

What to watch

The race ends after the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples. Yamashita's lead over Thitikul is 0.34 strokes, so the question is whether anyone behind her can close that over two events. Korda's return at The Annika matters for wins and Player of the Year talk, not this trophy.