Nelly Korda returns to No. 1 after playoff victory
Nelly Korda won her second event of the season at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship after a seven-week break from the LPGA tour.
After making back-to-back bogeys to close out regulation Sunday at Palos Verdes Golf Club near Los Angeles and enter a playoff against fellow American Ryann O’Toole, Korda gathered herself and drained a 15-foot birdie putt dead center on the first extra hole to clinch her 10th career title.
Korda earned $300,000 for the win. She returns to No. 1 in the world for the first time since August 2023.
“I’m aging myself really quickly out here,” joked Korda, who won the LPGA Drive On Championship in a playoff against Lydia Ko this year.
Korda, who closed with a 2-under 69, becomes the first American to win twice before April since Stacy Lewis in 2012.
O’Toole, a California native who played golf at UCLA, converted a lengthy par putt from off the green to close out a 5-under 66, the round of the day, and post a 9-under 275 total.
With Korda playing several groups behind O’Toole at 11 under, it looked like O’Toole’s late heroics might not be enough. But a rough finish in tough, windy conditions put Korda back at 9 under after regulation.
In overtime, the 37-year-old O’Toole hit it into the trees right off the tee but caught a good break in the rough and hit a beautiful approach into the closing hole. O’Toole, the best putter all week at Palos Verdes, couldn’t have possibly come closer in her birdie attempt.
“I can’t be more proud to be in this position,” she said. “You know, that was actually my first playoff ever, so I really enjoyed it.”
O’Toole won her only LPGA title in 2021 at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open in her 228th start.