Hi, it's Ryan Ballengee from Golf News Net, and we have a killer LPGA season finale on our hands.
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Whoa Nelly
Nelly Korda didn't even know she had returned to No. 1 in the world ranking at the start of the week. But by the end of the Pelican Women's Championship, she consolidated her edge over Jin Young Ko.
Despite a 71st-hole falter, Korda won the penultimate LPGA Tour event of the year. She birdied the 72nd hole to get into a four-person playoff with Lexi Thompson, Lydia Ko and Sei Young Kim (how about that lineup?!). Korda then birdied the first playoff hole at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., from 20 feet to win her fourth title of the year.
Now, she and Jin Young Ko both have four wins this year and both head to this week's season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in a dead heat to win the Player of the Year race. And, oh, by the way, whoever wins the tournament -- Korda, Ko or someone else -- wins $1.5 million, the biggest single prize in women's golf.
Kokrak Wins in Houston
Jason Kokrak used to be thought of as a good player that simply couldn't close. And in the time since the restart, Kokrak has shattered that notion.
Kokrak won his third tournament in the last 13 months on Sunday, taking the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open with a two-shot win at Memorial Park over Kevin Tway and 54-hole leader Scottie Scheffler on 10-under 270.
For the second year in a row, Tom Doak's redesigned Memorial Park has proven vexing for some of the best players in the world, limiting scoring at a time where 20-under winning totals are expected. Kudos to Doak's work.
This Week's Events
- PGA Tour:Â The RSM Classic, Sea Island Golf Resort, St. Simons Island, Ga. --Â FIELDÂ /Â RANKINGSÂ /Â ONE-AND-DONE
- LPGA Tour:Â CME Group Tour Championship, Tiburon Golf Club, Naples, Fla. --Â FIELD
- European Tour:Â DP World Tour Championship Dubai, Jumeirah Golf Estates (Earth Course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates --Â FIELD
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