Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda secured her seventh title of the 2024 season at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican on Sunday.
The win made her the first player since Yani Tseng in 2011 to claim seven victories in a single LPGA Tour season and the first American to achieve the feat since Beth Daniel in 1990.
Korda started the final round tied for second at 11-under-par with Weiwei Zhang, one shot behind Charley Hull, who led at 12-under-par. Hull extended her lead early with a birdie on the 1st hole but gave it back with a bogey on the 2nd. Korda also bogeyed the second, keeping her two shots behind. A bogey by Hull on the 3rd hole closed the gap, but Hull regained momentum with a birdie on the 4th. By the 7th hole, Korda had inched closer to 10-under-par while Hull remained ahead at 12-under-par.
Korda found her stride on the back nine. A birdie on the 11th brought her to 10-under-par, just one shot back, and another on the 12th tied her with Hull and Thailand’s Wichanee Meechai at 11-under-par. When Meechai bogeyed the 13th and Korda made birdie on the same hole, the world No. 1 took the lead at 12-under-par.
She added birdies on the 14th and 15th holes, extending her lead to two shots at 14-under-par. A clutch par save on the 16th and Hull’s bogey on the 17th gave Korda a comfortable cushion heading to the 18th, where she secured her win with composure.
“It’s so nice to play in front of friends and family so close to home,” Korda said. “I didn’t start the day the way I wanted to, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. To go on that run that I did feels really nice.”
The win was even more meaningful with Korda’s younger brother, professional tennis player Sebastian Korda, in the gallery.
“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. For him to drive an hour and 40 with three holes remaining, it was really, really nice to have his support.”
Hull finished tied for second at 11-under-par with Jin Hee Im and Weiwei Zhang. Hull reflected on her round, saying, “I feel like I played pretty solid. Today, I didn’t feel like I had the luck kind of going my way. On 17, I was in the middle of the fairway in a drainage ditch. Where I dropped, it was a really horrible lie. But Nelly played great, and it was a lot of fun out there.”
Wichanee Meechai, who briefly tied for the lead on the back nine, faded with two late bogeys and finished seventh. Linn Grant and Rose Zhang rounded out the top five at 10-under-par, while defending champion Lilia Vu struggled, finishing T34 at 1-under-par.
