World No.1 Nelly Korda has ripped off five straight birdies down the stretch to claim her seventh LPGA Tour title of the year, winning The Annika by three shots in Florida.
It was the American’s first win since May and marked her return after she recently withdrew from LPGA events in South Korea and Malaysia to recover from a minor neck injury.
Korda, who earlier this year tied an LPGA record with five straight victories, became the first player to win seven times in a season since Yani Tseng in 2011.
But the final day at Pelican Golf Club was far from easy initially as she stumbled through the front nine in two over par to be two shots behind overnight leader Charley Hull.
Korda turned it around when she started her streak of five consecutive birdies at the 11th hole and she went on to post a 67 and win at 14-under 266.
England’s Hull tied for second with China’s Weiwei Zhang (70) and South Korean Jin Hee Im (68).
Korda now owns three titles in the tournament’s five-year existence. She won in 2021 and 2022 when the event was called the Pelican Women’s Championship.
“You should have felt the nerves that I was feeling on the back nine, and then just after taking some time off with an injury, it feels great to be back out here,” Korda said.
“Nothing like being in the hunt, the adrenaline feeling on the back nine and being in contention. I love it so much.”
Hull could only muster one birdie on the back nine.
“I just didn’t feel like I had the luck going my way, say, but Nelly played great and it was a lot of fun out there,” Hull said.
The Annika was the final tournament before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where only the top 60 players in the season-long Race to the CME Globe qualify.
Australian star Minjee Lee sealed her spot in that event as she shot a 70 and finished tied 14th on Sunday, eight shots behind Korda.
At No.54 in the points rankings, she joins fellow Aussies Hannah Green (No.6), Gabriela Ruffels (No.30) and Grace Kim (No.46) at the Tour Championship, while Steph Kyriacou (No.62) missed out after missing the cut on Friday.
Ruffels tied for 32nd on Sunday after a closing 70.
