Nelly Korda topped off an eventful week in Belleair, Florida by claiming her seventh LPGA tour title this year. The Florida native won the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge on Sunday after four days of tight competition. Despite being tied for fifth place after round one on Thursday, Korda’s stats pointed to a promising next few days for the American star.
The odds were in Korda’s favor, and she made the most of them. Korda entered day three six shots behind Charlie Hull but cut the deficit to one by the final day, fueled by clutch putting and long birdie sinks. On Sunday, she surged ahead with five straight birdies, breaking the deadlock early with a precise putt on a breaking green. The number one ranked women’s golfer didn’t look back, winning the competition for the third time in her career with a three stroke lead.
The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge is the penultimate competition of the LPGA Tour. While Korda has already been named LPGA player of the year and heavily leads the Race to the CME Globe, she still looks to win the CME Group Tour Championship next week — the season-ending tournament of the LPGA Tour. Despite a challenging recovery from injury, Korda proved her resilience and readiness for competition, setting the stage for an exciting finale to her season.
Coming Back From Injury
Korda would have qualified for the Tour Championship even if she skipped this week's competition. Without competing in Belleair though, she would have entered the championship after a two-month break from tournament play. Korda has been sidelined with a neck injury since September, causing her to miss six tour events.
“Sometimes your body gives you signs, right? It’s smart. I need to listen to it a little bit more.”
When Korda found herself suffering from a migraine during the week of the Solheim Cup, something she first assumed was related to the stress she was under despite never having one before. Then, she hurt her neck while training in California shortly after. “Sometimes your body gives you signs, right?” Korda said. “It’s smart. I need to listen to it a little bit more.”
She admits that she may have rushed her rehab process to play at the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge, but it was important for her to play so close to home and get back on the grass. “I’m just kind of grateful to be out here playing,” Korda said. “Was definitely a little nervous on the first couple holes, just not knowing what to expect of my game because I have not been playing too much.”
The Pro-Am Tournament
Even coming back from injury, Korda started her week off in full swing. She warmed up for the tournament by playing in the tournament’s Pro-Am Wednesday with WNBA star Caitlin Clark. Despite the 7 a.m. tee time, the match between the two attracted a crowd that rivals what the tour usually gets for many of its tournaments.
“To see the influence that she has on people, bringing people out here, and to see how amazing of an influence she is just for sports, was really cool to see firsthand today,” Korda said after the event. It was reported that the stunt between the two led to an increase in ticket sales for the tournament that week, which is another huge win for women’s golf and sports as a whole..
Next Week
Korda’s win on Sunday showed us one thing: She’s healthy enough and ready to be the favorite entering next week’s Championship. The world number one has had a dominant season despite missing nearly two months of the LPGA Tour. After overcoming injury and clinching a dramatic win, all eyes are on Korda as she aims to close her season in style by winning the season-ending tournament for the first time in her career.
