15 November 2021: On an unseasonably cool day in Belleair, Fla., the hottest player on the planet, Rolex Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda, bounced back from a triple bogey on the par-4 17th at Pelican Golf Club to win the Pelican Women’s Championship. Korda carded back-to-back birdies on No. 18, from 21 feet in regulation and 23 feet the first hole of a four-way playoff, to capture her fourth victory this season and seventh of her career. Aditi Ashok secured a brilliant top ten finish with a rousing weekend of golf. She made scores of 65 and 64 over the weekend to secure her sixth top ten on the LPGA and the third this season.
Aditi shot seven birdies, including six on the last ten holes to produce a stellar finish. The 23-year-old was just four shots of the four women that tied for the lead going into the playoff at 17-under.
A 1-under par 69 on Sunday left Korda at 17-under overall after 72 holes, tied with Lydia Ko (66) and Sei Young Kim (67), as well as playing partner Lexi Thompson (69).
“I honestly lost hope,” said Korda, referring to her bad break on 17. “I was like, ‘Okay, just try to make a solid par because 18 is a really tough hole. If you have a chance for birdie, then try and go after it.’ But my caddie [Jason McDede] really kept me in the moment and I didn’t give up. Thank God I didn’t.
“Jason was like, ‘I want you to take one minute and just think positive thoughts, no negativity.’ So, I just thought about the putts I made, particularly No. 6. I made that right-to-left birdie putt, so I thought about that and just seeing the ball go in the hole.”
Korda joins Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko, who shot a final-round 66 to finish in a tie for sixth, as the only players with four wins on the LPGA Tour this season. The 23-year-old also becomes the winningest American in an LPGA Tour season since Stacy Lewis won four times in 2012. The gold medal Korda won at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August would make five victories, but Olympics do not count toward LPGA statistics.
“I think the major [KPMG Women’s PGA Championship] was the hardest because it was back-to-back events. It was my first major and that’s what I wanted for so, so long,” Korda said. “Growing up, I didn’t think, ‘Okay, I want to play in the Olympics. I want to win a gold medal.’ It was, ‘I want to win a major.’ That one definitely ranks really high up.
“But the gold medal, you know, comes once every four years. It’s such an honor to stand on that podium in front of the flag and put your hand across your chest. I had chills go through my entire body and I got really, really emotional. Thankfully I had the mask on.
“I always say that every event has a different meaning and every event has a special meaning to me, but obviously my first major, the gold medal, winning in front of my parents for the first time in [Lake] Nona, coming back, having all these expectations on me, not playing for a while and winning here, winning at Meijer [LPGA Classic] after missing the cut at the U.S. Open, being so down. Every win is special.”
After the triple bogey, Thompson stood on the tee box of No. 18 with a one-shot lead over Lydia Ko and Kim, who were both in the clubhouse. She stuck her approach to four feet and failed to convert. Then in the playoff, Thompson found the exact same spot with the same result to share second.
“Had an amazing week. Played solid golf. So many players played amazing golf, Nelly as well, obviously,” said Thompson. “Played a lot of good golf, made a lot of good putts, and just wasn’t meant for me in the end.”
Brooke Henderson rounded out the top five, using a final-round 65 to finish 14-under for the week and secure her seventh top-10 result of the year.
NELLY KORDA IS A LION WITH HER FATHER’S MANE
Every champion has a story, that moment growing up when a parent or a coach ignited the fire that led them to be competitors. Tiger Woods talked endlessly about how his father, Earl, would throw insults and distractions at him, attempting to break him and then build him up again.
Mickey Mantle thought about quitting baseball when he hit a slump. So, his father, Mutt, took him to the textile mill and told him to get a job. The following week, Mantle was back on the bus to play his next game.
Aaron Rodgers was pushed by a coach and his father’s estrangement.
Michael Jordan never got over the slight of being cut from his middle-school basketball team. Dean Smith knew that about Jordan and used it to build the greatest player in history.
And the world of tennis is full of champions who were prodded to be the competitors that they are today.
Petr Korda knew the drill. He saw something in his middle child, Nelly, that he recognized from his own past as a major champion and the No.3 tennis player in the world. Jessica, the oldest had the talent. But Jess was like her mother, Regina, the kind of person who needed to be happy to play well. Nelly was Petr through and through.
When she looks at you, you check your watch to see if it’s stopped running. She is the lion that you never want to anger, the killer who, with just a little nudge, rips you to shreds and moves right along. She has the fire to be as legendary as those other champions. And the way her resume is growing, she is well on her way.
LYDIA KO ONE OF THREE MAJOR WINNERS TO FALL IN PLAYOFF TO WORLD NO. 1 NELLY KORDA
Sunday at the Pelican Women’s Championship presented by Konica Minolta and Raymond James saw a playoff for the ages. After Lexi Thompson’s winning putt skirted the edge, it was back to the 18th tee for Sei Young Kim, Lydia Ko, Rolex Rankings world No. 1 Nelly Korda, and Lexi, setting the stage for a battle of epic proportions.
Though Korda ended up lifting the trophy after burying a 22-foot birdie putt for the win, it’s hard to ignore just how good Ko has played of late. It was just seven days ago that the 24-year-old won the Aramco Saudi Ladies International by five shots. Before that, it was a share of third for the Kiwi at the BMW Ladies Championship. Her finish of a tie for second at the Pelican Women’s Championship rounds out a stellar month of golf for Ko and sets her up nicely ahead of the CME Group Tour Championship.
“I played really solid this week,” she said after rounds of 67-66-64-66. “I think my ball-striking overall was really good. I felt like I left a lot of putts out there. But this is a really tricky golf course, especially on the greens. I feel like a lot of the distance putts that normally you would think are pretty good birdie range you’re looking at it double, looking at it again, and again. It’s hard. You’ve got three-, four-footers and playing like a cup of break and still misses low. Overall, I played solid. Hopefully, I will be able to keep the positives from this week going into next week. Hope for a few more putts to drop.”
As Ko looks ahead to Tiburón Golf Club, her confidence can’t help but be bolstered by her performances over the last couple of weeks. Sitting at third in the Race to the CME Globe, the New Zealander has as good a chance as anyone to take home the title, maybe even more so after the tear she’s been on as of late.
“Tiburon I think is a golf course where you can go low, but at the same time it can get away from you as well,” Ko said of next week’s event. “The weather looked pretty similar to this week, so that’s nice there is not a huge change in temperature. Other than that, just going to enjoy it and see what the week ahead is going to be like. Tiburon there are some holes that you need to be pretty accurate off the tee. Then the greens are pretty big. Probably the most similarity is just the grass being Bermuda, the run-off areas. In the past, I felt like your short game needed to be really on at Tiburon, so hopefully, that will be the case for next week. I think when you kind of get into tournament mode the week goes by pretty quick. It’s only four more competitive rounds until the season is over. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish off in a solid way.”
