Rolex World No. 1 and Rolex Player of the Year Nelly Korda won her seventh LPGA title this season at The ANNIKA this past weekend. Korda became the first golfer since Yani Tseng (2011) to win seven times in a single season on tour and is the first American since Beth Daniel (1990) to win at least seven times on tour. Americans Kathy Whitworth (1973) and Nancy Lopez (1978, 1979) also won at least seven titles in a single season.
Out of the 15 events Korda has competed in this season, she has won 47% of them – absolutely incredible.
Korda finished The ANNIKA shooting 14-under and clearing the rest of the field by three shots. However, Korda had to battle her way to the top, as she entered the final round tied for second with Weiwei Zhang at 11-under. It was a string of five birdies in a row on the back nine that helped Korda jump ahead and take the lead with three holes left to play. Korda took home her 15th career LPGA Tour title. Her win at The ANNIKA this season also marks the third time she has won this event in the last four years.
“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,” said Korda. “I didn’t start the day the way I wanted to, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. To have that run that I did on those five holes, I kept myself in it all day. I didn’t make big mistakes but couldn’t really get anything going. To go on that run that I did feels really nice.”
It was definitely a special weekend for Korda, who had plenty of family and friends in attendance. Korda was born and raised in Bradenton, Florida, near Belleair where The ANNIKA was held. This weekend, Korda was able to capture her seventh season win in front of her younger brother and tennis star Sebastian, who had never seen his sister capture an LPGA Tour title in-person.
“I didn’t know (Sebastian) was there on the last three. I saw him on 18 when I made that last putt,” Korda said. “Never won in front of him, but family is so important to me. It’s not that close to my parents’ house, hour and 40. For him to drive an hour 40 with three holes remaining, one, he was very confident in me, and two, really nice to have his support. We haven’t seen each other since the middle of summer, and to hug him was really, really nice.”
Korda’s younger brother was very impressed with her play, and when asked about her play this season, he had plenty of support for his sister.
“It’s pretty cool to watch her do her thing. She’s done so well this year; worked unbelievably hard. She’s gone through a lot of things and always comes back fighting and has just gotten back to work. That’s one of the things I admire about her is just how hard of a worker she is. She’s just overall an amazing athlete.”
Behind Korda were a trio of golfers. Weiwei Zhang, Jin Hee Im and Charley Hull all finished 11-under and tied for second. Hull claimed her fourth top-10 finish of the season and has her sights set on the CME Group Tour Championship next week, where she won back in 2016. Hull has finished as a runner-up at The ANNIKA seven times in her career.
“I feel like I played pretty solid. Today, I didn’t feel like I had the luck kind of going my way,” said Hull. “On the front nine, I felt like my adrenaline was quite high, and I flew the green on, I think it was the sixth hole. Then, the seventh hole, again, rocketed that shot. Steady on the back nine, but on 17, I was in the middle of the fairway in a drainage ditch. Where I dropped, it was a really horrible lie, way above my feet on a slope like that, and it was quite scruffy around there, and it just popped up high and came up short. I didn’t feel like I had the luck going my way, but Nelly played great, and it was a lot of fun out there.”
Weiwei Zhang moved up to No. 82 in the Race to CME Globe rankings after finishing in a second place tie at The ANNIKA this past weekend, with projections having her finishing at No. 86 in the final rankings. The second place tie marks Zhang’s top finish on tour since tying for tenth at the 2022 Portland Classic.
Tour rookie Jin Hee Im claimed her best finish on tour with her tie for second after finishing in a tie for fourth at the JM Eagle LA Championship in April. It is also her fifth top-10 and second top-5 finish of the season. Hee Im sits in second in the race for the Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award with 868 points, behind Mao Siago (934).
This weekend also marked the end of legendary golfer Brittany Lincicome’s career. Lincicome shot 4-over in the final round to finish 2-over for the event. After twenty years on tour, this would be Lincicome’s final time on the course as a full-time member of the LPGA Tour. Lincicome finished in a tie for 51st.
“I mean, I knew it was going to be emotional. Every time we keep talking about it I just tear up. My parents sacrificed everything to get me where I am and my dad caddied my first year and a half and we got our first win together. I thought he was just going to caddie half the hole after I hit the approach shot. He was like, no, I want to do the whole hole, and 18 is one of the hardest holes in the history of holes. But it was great. I tried to get the birdie for him. That would’ve been really cool. To have him inside the ropes walking with me, I know how much it’s meant for me. He’s literally been at every tournament I’ve ever played I think over my career. So just to be able to have him walk that last moment with me after all they sacrificed for me was really special.”
Next week the LPGA Tour heads to Naples, FL, for the CME Group Tour Championship (November 21-24th).
