Lydia Ko was already drafting her induction speech between strokes as she made her way down the 18th hole of the Bradenton Country Club. The orchestra had been alerted and the red carpet was beginning to roll out. It was done. The victory in the LPGA Drive On Championship was in the bag and with the win, that point she needed to be hailed with all honours as a new member of the women’s golf Hall of Fame was confirmed. She had a three-stroke lead and Nelly Korda, Saturday’s leader with a four-stroke lead, was in free fall…
But Lydia (and everyone watching the tournament) learned one of the most Spanish proverbs that exist: until the tail, everything is bull. The tournament seemed settled, but it wasn’t. All that glitters is not gold. Korda, against all odds, had something to say. After chaining a bogey on the 14th, double bogey on the 15th and bogey on the 16th, blowing up her lead and her chances of victory, the younger of the Korda sisters was able to sign off with a movie-like ending and change a story, and a speech, that seemed written.
What. A. Day. @NellyKorda came up CLUTCH to force a playoff and win #DriveOn 💯
WATCH ⬇️ https://t.co/JVyR0Wot6i
— LPGA (@LPGA) January 29, 2024
Nelly made an eagle on the 17th hole and a given birdie on the 18th to tie with Ko at -11 and force the tiebreaker. Don’t think that the eagle on the 17th was a piece of cake. In fact, only Korda herself and Lydia got one this Sunday. The birdie, just as complicated. Until Korda’s came in the last match of the day, only one other had been made, by Brooke Henderson. Simply, Nelly saved the best of her repertoire for the end.
Once in the playoff, they tied the first hole (again the 18th) with par, with a good recovery by Lydia Ko, and Korda won the second, signing off with a very good up and down and taking advantage of a cruel three-putt by the New Zealander for bogey. An incredible outcome.
It’s the ninth victory for Nelly on the LPGA Tour, the first on the American circuit since 2022. It’s also the second win in two tournaments for a local golfer. Korda lives in Bradenton and Lydia Ko, last week’s winner, lives in Lake Nona, where the champions’ tournament was played. A fun curiosity.
It takes 27 points to enter the Hall of Fame and Lydia Ko has 26. Each victory on the LPGA Tour adds a point. No one doubts that she will achieve it sooner rather than later, although now she will have more time to continue preparing her speech. Her start to the season has been fantastic, with a victory and a second place.
Azahara Muñoz (+2) finished with a round of 72 strokes, one over par, with two bogeys and a birdie. 35th place. Again, the Malaga-born golfer struggled with her shots to the green, although she was excellent in recoveries. In any case, good feelings in the first tournament of the year in what will be her first full season as a mother on the LPGA Tour.
We should also highlight the fourth place of Lucy Li, the ice cream girl from the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst. It’s the first top ten of her career on the American circuit.
