The LPGA Tour teed off at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida for the Pelican Women’s Championship. The inaugural even was won by Sei Young Kim with a total of 14-under par for her 12th career LPGA Tour title. The event was played over 72 holes on a par 70, 6268-yard layout. The purse was $1.75 million with 500 points toward the Race to the CME Globe to the winner.
First Round
Leona Maguire got off to a quick start and vaulted to the lead with an eight-under par 62. Sei Young Kim opened her defense of the title with birdies on the first three holes and a round of 64. Lexi Thompson, Jennifer Kupcho, Nelly Korda, Nasa Hataoka, and Danielle Kang were all bunched at five-under par. Among those just four shots back were Esther Henseleit and Gaby Lopez. A logjam of nine players were at three-under including notables Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson, Jessica Korda, and Matilda Castren. Still in the mix at two-under par was a contingency of 15 players including Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn, PavarisaYouktuan, and Patty Tavatanakit, along with Jin Young Ko, and Yuka Saso. There were 65 players that scored par or better. Notables over par and in danger of missing the cut were Mina Harigae, PajareeAnannarukarn, Yealimi Noh, Stacy Lewis, Sophia Popov, Amy Yang, and So Yeon Ryu.
Second Round
The shot of the day was fired by PavarisaYoktuan, who aced the par 3 12th and won a Lamborghini in the process. She finished at five-under par at the midway point. The round of the day went to Mi Hyang Lee who posted a 62 which included seven birdies and an eagle on the par 4 11th. Tied at the top were Jennifer Kupcho and Lexi Thompson at 11-under par, both posting rounds of 64. Just a shot back was the duo of Leona Maguire and Wei-Ling Hsu. Among the mix just two shots back were Matilda Castren, Nelly Korda, and Sei Young Kim. Jeongeun Lee6, Yealimi Noh, Yuka Saso, and Maria Fassi lurked at eight-under par. Notables at seven-under were Lydia Ko and Patty Tavatanakit. Pernilla Lindberg rebounded from a first round 72 to post a 65 to make the cut at three-under, along with Ariya Jutanugarn. In Gee Chun and Azahara Munoz also made dramatic eight-shot improvements in the second round and made the cut.
Third Round
The cream rose to the top in Saturday’s third round. Nelly Korda had eight birdies in a round of 63 and was tied with Lexi Thompson, who posted a round of 65. Jennifer Kupcho was on their tails at 15-under par, while Christina Kim, and Sei Young Kim put themselves into great position at 14-under par. Six-under par rounds of 64 by Lydia Ko and Patty Tavatanakit kept them in striking distance at 13-under par. Leona Maguire had a solid round of 68 and was four off the pace. PornanongPhatlum of Thailand and Maria Fassi were six shots back heading into the final 18 holes. Notables at nine-under par included Brooke Henderson, Jessica Korda, Jin Young Ko, and Jeongeun Lee6. Other notables include Danielle Kang and Yuka Saso at eight-under, Ariya Jutanugarn and Nasa Hataoka at seven-under, Celine Boutier at six-under, In Gee Chun at four-under, and So Yeon Ryu at two-under.
Final Round
Much of the final round was a battle between Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, both reaching 19-under par deep into the back nine. However, Korda posted a seven on the 17th and birdied the 18th to get to 17-under. Thompson bogeyed the last two holes to fall into a tie with Korda, Sei Young Kim, and Lydia Ko into a four-person playoff. The playoff was over quickly with Korda draining a birdie for the title.
Brooke Henderson finished in sole possession of 5th after a round of 65. Aditi Ashok played a stellar round of six-under par and finished in a group at 13-under that included Patty Tavatanakit, Jin Young Ko, and PornanongPhatlum. Jessica Korda and Jeonguen Lee6 finished tied for 11th. Albane Valenzuela charged up the leaderboard with a 64 and a tie for 15th. Ariya Jutnuargarn posted another top 20 finish, tied for 16th along with five others. Jennifer Kupcho struggled badly, shooting seven-over par that included two double bogeys. Leona Maguire had her worst round of the week with a 75 and finished tied for 28th.
Coming Up
The final event of the 2021 season is set for November 18-21 at The CME Group Tour Championship played at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. This 72-hole event, which started in 2014 takes place at a par 72 layout of 6556 yards. With a birdie on the final hole last season, Jin Young Ko finished with an 18-under par total. She emerged victorious for the 7th time on the LPGA Tour.
