Nelly Korda Contending for Seventh 2024 Title at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda is looking to do something on Sunday at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican that hasn’t been done since 2011 on the LPGA Tour – win for a seventh time in a single season.
This year has already been an unbelievable one for the 26-year-old, as she won five consecutive times from January to April, and then, after her winning streak was broken with a T7 showing at the Cognizant Founders Cup, she picked up a sixth 2024 title at the Mizuho Americas Open in May after a gritty final-round battle with Hannah Green in Jersey City, N.J.
No one had won six times in one calendar year on the LPGA Tour since Inbee Park in 2013, and it felt like Korda would win every subsequent tournament she teed it up in after her victory at Liberty National Golf Club, as things looked as easy as they ever had for the American superstar.
But Korda hit bit of a lull after her Mizuho victory, missing three straight cuts at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally, the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. After a bit of time off, the 14-time LPGA Tour winner righted the ship with a T26 showing at The Amundi Evian Championship in France and then finished T2 at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, an event she nearly won outright were it not for a couple of poor shots she hit coming down the stretch at the Old Course.
She added another top 10 to her 2024 tally with a T5 performance at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, what was her last start on the LPGA Tour before this week at The ANNIKA, as Korda had to pull out of her scheduled starts in Asia due to a neck injury.
With a couple of extra weeks to rest and reset, Korda is looking renewed and ready to chase down her third career The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican title, a win that would make her the first player since Jin Young Ko captured her third Cognizant Founders Cup title in 2023 to earn three wins at the same LPGA Tour tournament.
She kicked off her week in Belleair, Fla., with a 4-under 66 and then matched that score on day two after making one bogey and five birdies in the second round. Saturday’s third round was a bit rockier for the world No. 1, as Korda made three bogeys, one of which saw her three-putt the 18th hole at Pelican Golf Club, but she had six birdies on her scorecard to offset those mistakes, two pairs of which came back to back on holes eight, nine, 16 and 17.
It was a solid round for Korda, who has been a picture of consistency throughout this week at The ANNIKA, and much of her Moving Day success can be attributed to the lengthy putts she rolled in for birdie multiple times on day three. Her secret? It’s simple: past history.
“I just feel really comfortable with it,” said Korda, who is in a tie for second at 11-under. “That’s about it.”
This is Korda’s fourth year teeing it up in The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, and in her three previous starts, she won twice in 2021 and 2022 and then tied for 25th in 2023. After all of that prior success and considering this venue’s similarities to her home course, Concession Golf Club, the Bradenton, Fla. native knows exactly how to tackle this challenging venue, something that has proven to be an advantage for Korda over her years competing at this event on the LPGA Tour schedule.
“Just knowing that there are more opportunities out there that I can capitalize on some of the holes that I have maybe a little wedge in if I do hit it good off the tee,” said Korda when asked how she has managed to bounce back from slow starts this week. “I’ve played this golf course, this is my fourth year. I know the golf course now. I know I can bounce back even if I do make some mistakes on the harder holes.”
Korda will be battling it out alongside Weiwei Zhang and Charley Hull in the final group on Sunday as she works to make more history at Pelican Golf Club, the latter of whom the Rolex Rankings No. 1 has a history with. Korda and Hull have teed it up together numerous times throughout their careers in various LPGA Tour events, but the pair’s last head-to-head battle came just a couple of months ago in mid-September at the 2024 Solheim Cup.
Their respective captains sent Korda and Hull out in the first match of Sunday singles at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, and it was ultimately Hull who got the upper hand, defeating the American by an impressive 6-and-4 margin in Gainesville, Va. While Korda enjoys playing with Hull and considers the Englishwoman to be a friend, she is still looking to outdo her in the final round of The ANNIKA as she works to collect her first LPGA Tour victory since May, a win that could be considered a bit of payback from that Solheim Sunday.
But if things don’t shake out in Korda’s favor this week, she will have another shot at history next week at the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburón Golf Club, one that could wind up being two-fold with a $4 million winner’s check up for grabs.
However, even with what is to come, Korda will have her mind on just one thing on day four at Pelican Golf Club – winning – and will be doing everything in her power to add a third ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican trophy to her ever-growing collection of LPGA Tour hardware on Sunday afternoon.
“I do truly love (being in contention),” said the 2024 Rolex Player of the Year. “I am going to go home, get a good night’s rest, get some food in my stomach, and hopefully, give it my all tomorrow.”