Whoa, Nelly! Another Korda wins in Australia
ADELAIDE, Australia — Nelly Korda added to her family’s impressive sports pedigree Down Under with a win Sunday in the Women’s Australian Open.
The 23-year-old American golfer led by three strokes after the third round, increased her edge to four with a tap-in birdie on the 10th hole Sunday and added a 25-foot birdie on the 11th to stretch her advantage to five.
She had a third consecutive birdie on the 12th to help her secure a two-stroke victory with a closing 5-under-par 67 at The Grange Golf Club. Korda finished at 17-under 271, with 2018 tournament champion Jin Young Ko (64) forced to settle for second.
South Korea’s Ko avoided bogeys in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to catch Korda, who had rounds of 71, 66 and 67 the first three days to set up her second LPGA Tour victory.
Korda’s father Petr is a former Australian Open tennis champion, with the Prague native having won the men’s singles tournament in 1998. Her golfing sister Jessica, 25, won the Australian Open seven years ago, and her tennis-playing brother Sebastian won the Australian Open boys’ singles title last year.
“I’m just happy to finally be a part of the club,” Korda said at the trophy presentation. “There’s maybe something in the air here. We love coming Down Under, and we really enjoy our time here.
“I just got off the phone with my dad, and he’s like ‘Well, congratulations, you’re part of the Korda Slam now.’”
Petr and his wife Regina, also a pro tennis player who represented Czechoslovakia at the 1988 Olympics, watched their daughter’s triumph from their
home on the west coast of Florida. Jessica, currently sidelined from the LPGA Tour because of a wrist injury, watched from Florida’s east coast. And Sebastian tuned in from Turkey moments before he played a Futures Tour match.
“When I was left out (of winning in Australia) they didn’t try to rub it in too much,” Nelly said. “Now that we all have a win down here, it’s going to be really special … obviously there was pressure, but I think I finally carved my own way.”
Taiwan’s Wei-Ling Hsu (68) was third at 12 under, a shot ahead of Japan’s Haru Nomura (70) and U.S. golfer Angel Yin (66).
Jimenez wins playoff
NAPLES, Fla. — Miguel Angel Jimenez won the Chubb Classic for his seventh PGA Tour Champions
title, beating Olin Browne and Bernhard Langer by making a five-foot par putt on the first hole of a playoff.
Jimenez closed with a 5-under 66 at The Classics at Lely Resort to match Browne (66) and Langer (68) at 13-under 200 for 54 holes.
“I’m working hard and I practice and go to the gym, apart from smoking and drinking,” Jimenez joked.
“This is what I love to do,” he said. “I love to play golf. To me, competing is my life. I go to any competition, I want to win. I’m working for that.”
Jimenez has won at least once in each of his six seasons on the 50-and-older tour. The 55-yearold Spaniard won two majors last season — the Regions Tradition and the Senior British Open.
Browne made a double bogey on the par-4 18th in regulation,
missing a chance to avoid the playoff.
“I didn’t hit a very good tee shot in regulation, and I had a lot of club in,” Browne said. “I was in between and I thought there was more wind, and frankly I hit a poor shot, but I ended up in a horrible situation.”
The 61-year-old Langer, who was coming a win the week before, is a three-time Chubb Classic winner (2011, 2013, 2016).
Woody Austin and Kevin Sutherland each closed with a 69 to finish a shot out of the playoff. Stephen Ames, tied for the second-round lead with Glen Day and Ken Tanigawa, had a 71 to tie for sixth at 11 under with Retief Goosen (69), Tom Lehman (65), Sandy Lyle (68) and Colin Montgomerie (70). Day and Tanigawa each closed with a 72 and tied with Steve Stricker (70) for 11th at 10 under.
Chattanooga’s Gibby Gilbert III (78) tied for 52nd as he finished at par.
Fox is superior
PERTH, Australia — New Zealand’s Ryan Fox won the World Super 6, beating Spain’s Adrian Otaegui in the matchplay final at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
Fox topped Jazz Janewattananond, Kristoffer Reitan and Paul Dunne on the way to the final before defeating Otaegui in the decider, going up three holes with two to play to end it. It was the 32-year-old Fox’s first European Tour victory.
Fox, whose father Grant was a World Cup-winning rugby union player for the New Zealand national team, was forced to give up rugby after a series of concussions.
Otaegui, No. 71 in the World Golf Ranking, qualified for the six-hole decider by beating Scott Vincent in their semifinal shootout, winning three of the first four holes to set up the showdown with Fox.
The first three rounds of the tournament were stroke play. The top 24 players from that qualified for the final-day match play, which consisted of a series of elimination six-hole shootouts.
Hubbard’s first
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. — Mark Hubbard won the LECOM Suncoast Classic for his first Web.com Tour title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over Maverick McNealy.
Hubbard, a 29-year-old former San Jose State golfer, finished at 26-under 262 at Lakewood National Golf Club.
McNealy, who also closed with a 67, finished a shot ahead of Rick Lamb (64) and Jimmy Stanger (68) as they shared third.