AMERICAN star Nelly Korda is projected to return to the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 position for the fifth time in her career following her playoff victory at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship yesterday.
In her first start since winning the LPGA Drive On Championship in late January, Korda carded rounds of 72, 67, 67 and 69 at Palos Verdes Golf Club for a nine-under-par 275 total. The 25-year-old edged compatriot Ryan O’Toole with a birdie on the first extra hole to pick up her 10th career LPGA Tour title.
Starting the final round on seven-under-par, two shots behind co-leaders Alison Lee and former world No. 1 Jiyai Shin of Korea, Korda registered three birdies and two bogeys on her front nine to move to within one shot of the lead.
A birdie on Hole 12 and an eagle at the par-five 14th gave Korda a two-shot lead, but she made three bogeys and one birdie in her closing four holes to tie O’Toole on nine-under-par. O’Toole had earlier signed in an excellent 66, while Lee closed with a 72 and Shin a 73.
On the first playoff hole at the par-four 18th, both O’Toole and Korda did well to set up birdie putts after finding the rough with their respective tee shots. After O’Toole narrowly missed her lengthy effort, Korda drained a 15-foot putt to seal the win.
“Definitely not easy coming back after a long break like that, not really knowing where your game is. I fought really hard the last three days. The weekend was brutal,” said Korda, who last held the world No. 1 ranking in August last year.
“Today was tough. That’s the beauty of the game. It’s fun to play in these conditions and be a little bit more artistic out here. Once I made the eagle, I got a little nervous where I kind of got a little ahead of myself and started making some mistakes,” she added.
Korda is the first player since Karrie Webb in 2011 to win two of her first three starts of the season, and the first since Inbee Park in 2013 to win a playoff in consecutive starts.
Despite missing out on her second LPGA title, O’Toole noted that she was proud of her performance.
“That was actually my first playoff ever, so I really enjoyed it. At least I gave it my best attempt. The putting could have gone either way. Hey, I came from behind and gave it my best chance. I can’t be more proud,” she said.
Lee and Australia’s Gabriela Ruffels tied for third on eight-under-par, the latter missing a long birdie putt on the final hole that would have put her in the playoff. Winner of the 2023 Epson Tour Race for the Card rankings, Ruffels was elated at chalking up her career-best finish on the LPGA Tour.
“Such a special week considering that on Friday I was outside the cut line. It was such a special week to be here at Palos Verdes with my family close by and to have my best result in an LPGA event,” said Ruffels, who is a graduate of the University of Southern California.
Defending champion Ruoning Yin of China settled for a joint eighth finish on six-under-par.
Making her first appearance on the 2024 LPGA Tour, Malaysia’s Kelly Tan missed the cut after rounds of 73 and 77. While disappointed with the result, the 30-year-old took positives from her first competitive event in more than three months.
“Swung off some rust and there’s positives to take away from this week at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. A few mistakes made that I can easily be better at,” Tan shared on social media.
Next up for the LPGA Tour is the inaugural edition of the USD2.25 million Ford Championship presented by KCC, which tees off on March 28-31 at Seville Golf & Country Club in Gilbert, Arizona.
The 2024 LPGA Tour schedule features 35 events in 10 countries, offering a record total prize fund of more than USD118 million. The tour’s second Asian swing includes the USD3 million Maybank Championship at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on October 24-27, where France’s Celine Boutier will defend the title she won in an epic nine-hole-playoff against Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul last year.
