BELLEAIR, Fla. — Charley Hull, fresh off her first victory in more than two years, didn’t lose her form from Saudi Arabia to Florida in opening with a 6-under 64 on Thursday to share the lead with Jiwon Jeon after the first round of The Annika.
Nelly Korda hasn’t lost much from being out of competition for nearly two months. The No. 1 player in the women’s world ranking had four birdies over her last five holes to salvage a 66.
Hull won two weeks ago in the Aramco Team Series-Riyadh, a 54-hole tournament on the Ladies European Tour. It was her first title since winning in Texas on the LPGA Tour in 2022.
“I feel like I’ve been playing very, very well all year,” Hull said. “Sometimes you just forget how to win. So that’s kind of reminded me how to win.”
It was a great start for Jeon, particularly her hole-in-one on the par-3 third hole at Pelican Golf Club. She also had six birdies to offset a pair of bogeys.
She hit a hybrid — the equivalent of a 4-iron — on the 182-yard third hole, and unlike some of her previous aces, she actually saw it go in.
“I had exactly the same yardage the last hole for the second shot, so I was talking to my caddie, ‘Like just hit the same shot?’ Then I hit it and then I saw the one bounce and went in the hole,” she said. “It was very cool to see the hole-in-one actually going into the hole.”
Jeon is No. 98 in the Race to CME Globe, and this is the last tournament for players to get into the top 60 and qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship next week down the Gulf Coast of Florida in Naples.
Just getting to the finale isn’t all that matters — whoever wins claims a $4 million prize and is declared the Race to CME Globe champion.
Even if Jeon doesn’t make it, the top priority is keeping her LPGA card. The top 100 are assured of full status for 2025.
“Obviously, I want to keep my card for next year, but I try not to think about it too much,” she said. “I literally gave everything for last three days’ practice. I [was] trying to figure out what I have to do out here and then really focus on like each shot. And then I think that work really paid off today. I want to continue to do the same thing for the rest of the tournament.”
Korda tuned up for The Annika by playing nine holes in the pro-am with WNBA star Caitlin Clark, and she hit her stride toward the end. Coming off back-to-back bogeys that brought her back to even par for the day, Korda ran off her string of birdies, finishing her day by chipping in from off the 18th green.
She last played Sept. 22 at the Kroger Queen City Championship, withdrawing from two events in Asia because of a neck injury. This was her first time walking 18 holes in nearly two months.
“Was definitely a little nervous on the first couple holes, just not knowing what to expect of my game because I have not been playing too much,” Korda said. “Under pressure it is very different from when you just kind of go out on a cart by yourself and you kind of just play a round. But pretty happy with the way I played. Hit a couple loose shots in the middle of the round, but other than that, I mean, that’s something that I can work on.”
Gemma Dryburgh and Mi Hyang Lee were one shot behind at 65. Lee came into the week at No. 59, so this was a big step in making sure she gets to extend her season.
