Nelly Korda carded a bogey-free seven-under par round of 63 at Pelican Golf Club in Florida to trail the leaders by two shots in her return to LPGA Tour action.
Return to Competition at Pelican Golf Club
Competing for the first time since the Solheim Cup, Korda opened her tournament with a clean scorecard on the Gulf Coast. Japan’s Minami Katsu and Korean Hye-Jin Choi shared the lead after opening with matching rounds of 63, while Lindy Duncan sat one shot behind Korda after carding a 64. Korda’s last competitive appearance prior to her two-month absence had come at the Solheim Cup in the Netherlands following her previous LPGA Tour outing in August at the FM Championship outside Boston.
During her time away, she rested after feeling burned out from the demanding stretch of competition. Korda typically bypasses the early and late-year Asia swings on the calendar before preparing for the concluding pair of Florida events on the schedule. Her four victories earlier in the year featured a major title at the U.S. Women’s Open in early June at Riviera.
“It was nice to kind of feel those juices flowing again, especially playing with Hye-Jin who just had a great round today,” Korda told Daily Journal.
Korda has already clinched the LPGA player of the year award based on points. A victory in Florida would make her eligible for the LPGA Hall of Fame and allow her to surpass tournament host Annika Sorenstam on the career money list.
She enters the week leading the Race to CME Globe standings, though any competitor in the 60-player field at the upcoming Tour Championship can claim the season title and its top prize.
“I needed to take that break, and right after Solheim I was burned out,” Korda said, Sky Sports noted. “I just needed to mentally step away for a few days.”
Choi Shares Lead After Bouncing Back from Early Bogeys
During the second round, Choi bounced back from two early bogeys and secured a three-way share of the lead alongside Carlota Ciganda and Duncan at 12-under 128 according to Golf Channel. Korda posted a 69 on Friday consisting of 17 pars and one birdie, leaving her four strokes behind the leaders. Katsu played her second round in the afternoon conditions to pull within two shots of the lead.
Meanwhile, other international competitors placed themselves firmly into contention during the opening 36 holes, including Denmark’s Nicole Broch Estrup and Spain’s Julia Lopez Ramirez among a group sitting at six under par. Additional players from the European team such as Lottie Woad, Leona Maguire, and Carlota Ciganda also factored into the leaderboard.
“I had a lot of chances,” Korda told Yahoo Sports. “But you can just tell that from yesterday morning to today afternoon with the wind, that’s what the defense of this golf course is. It’s as fast as Bermuda as I’ve putted on throughout my career.”
Choi seeks her first LPGA title after five years as a tour member, following a strong Asia swing that featured two runner-up finishes as detailed by Sky Sports.
Her close calls date back to her youth, including a runner-up finish as a 17-year-old teenager when she held a late lead during the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open. Duncan, a 35-year-old Floridian chasing her maiden LPGA victory, shared the 36-hole lead for the first time in her career after going 2-1 during her Solheim Cup debut.
“The week has gone by really fast, which is sometimes a good thing,” Duncan told Golf Channel.
The tournament serves as the final regular-season event of the year, determining which players among the top 60 in the Race to CME Globe advance to the finale in Naples where the winner receives $2 million according to Sky Sports. Scoring during the opening days proved low enough for a 1-under total of 139 to successfully make the cut.
“I have two rounds left, but I have recently played in a champion group on the tournament before, so I have that experience and I’m going just try my best and concentrate on my game,” Choi told Golf Channel.