Nelly Korda ripped off 5 straight birdies down the stretch and captured her third title at The Annika on Sunday in Belleair, Florida.
After beginning the day one shot off the lead, that birdie run shot Korda as much as 14 beneath par. She completed the day with three straight pars to document a final-round 67, a rating of 266 for the week and a three-shot victory over 54-hole chief Charley Hull of England and two others.
Korda now owns three titles within the match’s five-year existence. She gained in 2021 and 2022 when the occasion was referred to as the Pelican Girls’s Championship.
It additionally marks the World No. 1’s seventh win of the yr, however her first since Could. Korda just lately withdrew from LPGA occasions in South Korea and Malaysia to recuperate from a minor neck harm.
“You need to have felt the nerves that I used to be feeling on the again 9, after which simply after taking a while off with an harm, it feels nice to be again out right here,” Korda stated. “Nothing like being within the hunt, the adrenaline feeling on the again 9 and being in rivalry. I like it a lot.”
Two of Korda’s birdies between Nos. 11-15 at Pelican Golf Membership got here on par-3s. At No. 12, she landed her tee shot a number of toes from the opening and swept in her birdie putt to tie the lead at 11 beneath.
After making an uphill, right-to-left putt on the par-4 thirteenth to take the outright lead and including a birdie on the par-5 14th, Korda left herself simply 3 or so toes for birdie after one other excellent tee shot on the par-3 fifteenth.
“Not plenty of comfortable ideas at first,” stated Korda, who had three bogeys and just one birdie on her entrance 9. “However, yeah, I imply, I’ve such an ideal teammate. (Jason McDede) and I’ve been collectively for I believe subsequent yr happening our ninth yr. Having him by my facet clearly helps as a result of he is aware of what to say once I do get down on myself.”
Hull led after the second and third rounds however struggled to a 1-over 71 to land at 11-under 269. In an uneven begin, she made two birdies and three bogeys by six holes, and after settling in with a run of seven pars, Korda handed her by and she or he may solely muster one birdie and one bogey coming dwelling.
“I simply didn’t really feel like I had the luck going my manner, say, however Nelly performed nice and it was plenty of enjoyable on the market,” Hull stated.
Jin Hee Im of South Korea (68 Sunday) and Weiwei Zhang of China (70) tied with Hull for second. Rose Zhang (67) tied for fifth at 10 beneath with Sweden’s Linn Grant (66).
Zhang had 5 birdies and one blemish on her scorecard, a double-bogey 5 at No. 12.
“Truthfully, 12 was just a bit bit unfortunate. I hit it on the inexperienced and it simply rolled again into the water, so I truthfully don’t have any regrets for that gap both,” Zhang stated. “At this time simply normally I used to be very strong and felt the adrenaline. It’s good to be in rivalry once more.”
The Annika was the ultimate match earlier than the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, the place solely the highest 60 gamers within the season-long Race to the CME Globe qualify. Spaniard Carlota Ciganda, who started the week No. 63 in factors, was projected by the LPGA’s on-line leaderboard to maneuver into the sixtieth and ultimate qualifying place after capturing 6-under 274 and tying for 14th this week.