Welcome to Nelly Korda’s house. It’s called Pelican Golf Club, but the trophy stays with her. The World No. 1, in her first LPGA tournament in two months after suffering a neck injury, entered the back nine with six others a stroke behind Charley Hull, and rattled off five straight birdies from the 11th to 15th as part of a back-nine charge for a closing three-under 67 to finish at 14 under, winning by three shots for her third career victory in the LPGA’s Annika event in only four appearances.
The title is Korda’s seventh LPGA victory this season, adding more ink to one of the most successful LPGA years in over a decade. This is the first time since Yani Tseng in 2011 that someone has won seven times in a year, and Korda is the first American to accomplish the feat since Hall of Famer Beth Daniel did so in 1990.
Achieving this historic mark happened only because of the ferocity with which Korda attacked rehabbing her neck injury, working with her physio trainer Kim Baughman three times a day to strengthen her neck.
“It’s so nice to play in front of friends and family so close to home,” Korda said. “I think that’s what makes me so comfortable out here. 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, yeah, just kept myself in it all day.”
Korda, 26, battled migraines starting in September during the Solheim Cup, where only a dark room would give her reprieve from pain. She suffered a neck injury in her practice leading up to the Asia swing, a consequence of trying to manage her migraine pain. Korda withdrew from a pair of tournaments in South Korea and Malaysia, primarily focusing on rehab over the last two months.
To get Korda right, Baughman would drive 40 minutes to Korda’s home three times a day to work for up to 45 minutes on strengthening her neck. They attacked the rehab uncertain if Korda’s body, which has dealt with injuries that have sidelined her in four of the last five seasons, would let her recover in time to compete. She got healthy enough to pick up a club only two weeks ago.
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