Earlier this month, Nelly Korda clinched LPGA Player of the Year honors without swinging a club. She was that good earlier in the season.
Sunday, she reminded everyone of that dominance.
The world No. 1, playing for the first time since resting a neck injury, birdied five consecutive holes on the back nine at Pelican Golf Club to seize the Annika tournament, collecting her seventh win of 2024.
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She finished at 14 under par, three shots clear of Charley Hull, Jin Hee Im and Weiwei Zhang, following a front-nine 37 with a closing 30 on the back including five birdies from Nos. 11-15.
“I was playing really well all week. I hit some loose shots on the front nine and may have not rolled in the putts on the front nine. On the back nine I always felt really, really good,” Korda said. “I just stuck to my game plan. I just needed one putt to really go in, and that did on No. 11. From then on, I just felt a little bit more comfortable on the greens.”
Earlier this season Korda won six tournaments from late January through mid-May including an LPGA record-tying five in a row which included her second career major title at the Chevron Championship.
“It feels like lifetimes ago. Just life kind of goes by in a blur … sometimes you do have to step back and smell the roses,” she said. “With sports you're constantly looking ahead and going, what's next, what's next, never kind of reminiscing.
“Sometimes taking a step back and putting the phone away and going on a vacation and realizing what you just did is really nice. Yeah, I mean the beginning of the year feels like a long time ago. Yep.”
The win was her third at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., less than an hour north of her home in Bradenton. The event was rebranded last year for Annika Sorenstam, who presented the trophy to Korda—one first-name-only LPGA legend to another.
Korda, 26, will now take momentum to the season finale next week, the CME Group Tour Championship, a 60-player field paying $4 million to the winner.
In addition to earning LPGA Player of the Year honors this month, Korda was also announced as a 2025 SI Swimsuit model.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Late Birdie Barrage Powers Nelly Korda to Seventh LPGA Win of 2024.
