Korean Women’s Golf, 15 Consecutive LPGA Tournaments Without a Win... Nelly Korda Triumphs

Kim Hyoju Ties for 17th at 5 Under Par in Pelican Championship
Korda's Stunning Comeback with Second Consecutive Win, Thompson 2nd, Koepka 3rd

Kim Hyo-joo is teeing off at the 3rd hole on the final day of the Pelican Championship. Bel Air, USA - Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Seohee Lee] Kim Hyo-joo (27) failed to break her consecutive 'winless' streak on the U.S. Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour.

On the 13th (local time), at the Pelican Golf Club (par 70, 6,268 yards) in Belleair, Florida, USA, Kim Hyo-joo shot a 2-over-par 72 in the final third round of the LPGA Tour Pelican Championship (total prize money $2 million). With a total score of 5-under-par 205, she finished tied for 17th place along with Kim Sei-young (29), Pauline Roussin (France), Yin Ruoning (China), and Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark).

Kim Hyo-joo, who was considered a hopeful to break the Korean players' consecutive winless streak on the LPGA after tying for 2nd in the first round and 7th in the second round, struggled on the final day. She started off well by making a birdie on the 2nd hole, but made a bogey on the 5th hole (both par 4). However, she immediately recovered with a birdie on the 7th hole (par 5), reducing her score by one stroke in the front nine.

In the back nine, she made a birdie on the 10th hole (par 4), but then lost focus and faltered. She made bogeys on the 11th and 13th holes, and on the final 18th hole (par 4), she even made a double bogey, losing three strokes in an instant.

Korea continues its 15-tournament winless streak since Jeon In-ji (28) lifted the trophy at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship last June.

Nelly Korda is kissing the trophy immediately after winning the Pelican Championship. Bel Air, USA - AP Yonhap News
Photo by AP

2022 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Nelly Korda (USA) returned to the top at the same tournament after one year. This was her 8th career win, with a winner's prize of $300,000 (approximately 400 million KRW). Korda shot a 6-under-par 64 in the final round to finish with a total score of 14-under-par 196, winning by one stroke over runner-up Lexi Thompson (USA).

Earlier this season, Korda was hospitalized for thrombosis and took about four months off to focus on rehabilitation. After losing the world No. 1 ranking to Ko Jin-young (27) in January and being unable to compete, she dropped to No. 4 in the world rankings. However, with this victory, she is expected to regain the No. 1 spot in the weekly world rankings announced on the 15th. Current world No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand) did not participate in this tournament.

Thompson recorded six birdies and two bogeys for a 4-under-par 66, finishing with a total score of 13-under-par 197, narrowly missing the win.

Allison Koepka (USA), who was leading until the previous day, only managed to reduce her score by one stroke, dropping to 3rd place (11-under-par 199).

Jeon In-ji, returning to the LPGA after two months due to a shoulder injury, finished tied for 22nd with a 4-under-par 206.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.