On the par-4 18th hole at Pelican Golf Club, Nelly Korda had two comparable looks for birdie on Sunday. She was the one who created both of them.
On the same hole, Lexi Thompson had two chances at a far shorter putt. She was missing both of them.
The difference was Korda’s stunning victory in the Pelican Women’s Championship and Thompson’s loss due to a faulty flatstick.
“I was on the verge of losing faith. In a sense, I was thinking, OK, it’s time to focus on next week “Korda remarked. “I just found probably the finest putt, made two consecutive putts, and rolled them in beautifully. My putting was definitely not the best, but I made it work, so that’s all that matters.”
The co-54-hole leaders, Korda and Thompson, were engaged in a final-round contest from the outset on Sunday in Belleaire, Florida. Thompson thought to have the tournament in his hands with two holes to spare after Korda’s quadruple bogey at No. 1 put him in a commanding position. 17, but she missed back-to-back par putts, including a 5-footer on her 72nd hole, to finish at 17 under par, alongside world No. 5 Lydia Ko (66), No. 4 Sei Young Kim (67), and No. 1 Korda, who matched Thompson’s closing 1-under 69 with a 15
For the playoff, the four stars returned to the 18th tee. Korda and Thompson found roughly identical locations on the green to where they were earlier in the day, but Ko and Kim were unable to hit their approach shots close.
Thompson might extend with a make of her own when Korda calmly rolled in another birdie from 15 feet away. She did, however, pull her 6-footer the entire way, her ball just missing the cup by inches.
Thompson remarked, “I played a lot of nice golf, made a lot of excellent putts, and it just wasn’t meant for me in the end.”
Korda now has four victories on the season (not including her Olympic gold). She will compete in the CME Group Tour Championship next week. Her victory on Sunday was her first since the KPMG Women’s PGA in June, and it ended a four-match losing streak.
However, she is still in second place in the CME Globe Race, with leader Jin Young Ko tied for sixth.
