Korda Continues to Chase History
with Victory at The ANNIKA

By Jeff Babineau

How long has it been since she hoisted a trophy? To hear Korda put it, the last one came “a few lifetimes ago.”

Playing on a golf course (Pelican Golf Club) where she never has shot a round above par, Korda went 66-66-67-67 to finish at 14-under 196. She is as sure a thing at Pelican and The ANNIKA as death and taxes, having carried a robust scoring average of 66.5 here into the week on this golf course, where the firm, slick greens can be a challenge.

Sorenstam was on hand to give out the trophy for the second year, as well as a champion’s check for $487,500, pushing Korda’s earnings past $4 million on the season. She will be the favorite again this week playing on Bermuda greens at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, where the top 60 in CME Race to the Globe points following The ANNIKA earned the opportunity to play for first-place money of $4 million. And more history, of course.

Nelly Korda was as patient as she could be, waiting for her opening on Sunday at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. Time seemed to be running short, and at the par-4 11^th, Korda finally ran in a putt.  Birdie. She was waiting to see that, and it got her going. She stuffed one tight at the par-3 12^th, to 4 feet, to set up another birdie.

England’s Charley Hull, who had been steady all week, made par to keep at least a share of the lead, but Korda was a train just picking up steam, showing an extra gear that has elevated her to No. 1 in the world.

Three more birdies would follow for Korda, and before too long, Korda. When she curled in a 15-footer at the 13^th, Korda, for the first time all week, had the lead. No one would catch her, either, and by the time darkness fell, Korda had victory No. 7 in a season that, though historic, needed one last spark to get her to the finish line. Winning for a third time in four years at The ANNIKA and sitting elbow to elbow with a legend such as the tournament’s namesake, Annika Sorenstam, at the winner’s conference can make a player feel pretty special about herself.

Her parents, Petr and Regina Korda, were there for the victory, as was her brother, Sebastian, a professional tennis player who rarely gets to see Nelly play. He made the 1 hour, 40 minute drive from Boca Raton to catch her finish. It was all big sister Nelly could do not to cry when he approached her on the 18^th green and gave her a huge embrace.

“it’s so nice to play in front of friends and family so close to home. I think that’s what makes me so comfortable out here,” Nelly said after collecting her 15^th LPGA title, tying he for most wins among active players with Jin Young Ko. “Didn’t start the day the way I wanted to (2 over through 8), but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. To have that run that I did on those five holes, yeah … just kept myself in it all day.”

Hull, who won a Ladies European Tour event in her last start two weeks ago in Saudi Arabia, closed with a round of 1-over 71 and tied for second alongside Weiwei Zhang (Republic of China), who started the week at 106^th in the CME standings and needed a good showing to keep her card, and rookie Jin Hee Im (68) of Korea.

It was a whirlwind week for Korda, who said she rushed her rehab back from a neck injury to be back in time to finish the season with two starts near home. On Wednesday, she played the morning portion of the pro-am alongside Caitlin Clark, the WNBA standout, who brought some new faces out to patch golf. Those who stuck around later in the week to watch Korda got a chance to see one of the absolute best.

Not since Inbee Park in 2013 had a player won seven or more times in a single LPGA season. And Korda has one more start to go. 

As Sorenstam watched Korda find her way and start reeling off birdies on that back nine, surely it had to make the 72-time LPGA champion think of her dominant days of the past. Sorenstam is one of the few who knows the feeling of being on such a torrid run.

“Yeah, that’s what we work so hard for,” Sorenstam said. “Golf at those times seems simple, right? Big fairways, big greens, big cups, and we have a lot of confidence. I think the better you play just kind of keeps on going and you believe in yourself. You really don’t think about bad shots. Don’t think about bad bounces.”

“Just the positive vibe that you have.” At Pelican, certainly, nobody feels those vibes more than Korda these days.

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