Nelly Korda in seventh heaven, Céline Boutier in the top 10!

After a break of a few weeks, Nelly Korda came back, saw and conquered again on the LPGA Tour. In Florida, during the penultimate tournament of the season, she won her seventh title of the year. Céline Boutier finished in 8th place and will approach the grand final next week with confidence.

However, everything started off badly. After eight holes in this final round, Nelly Korda had already made three bogeys and was two shots behind Charley Hull. But the world No. 1 is not the best player in the world for nothing. She had not won six times in 2024 (seven now) on a roll of the dice.

The American champion completely rocked theANNIKA Pelican in his favor with an exceptional series of five consecutive birdies from 11 to 15.

Propelled alone into the lead from hole no. 13, Nelly Korda no longer let go of the controls of a tournament where she plays practically at home (her brother Sebastian, 23rd in the ATP, was present) and that she is awarded for the third time.

The seventh with family

Her seventh success of the season (a first since the exceptional season of the Taiwanese Yani Tseng and his 7 successes in 2011) is also a beautiful response to a difficult time for Jessica's sister who has recently been suffering from neck and migraine attacks. At only 26 years old, this immense champion now has 20 successes on the LPGA.

Nelly Korda had not played since her 5th place during the Kroger Queen City Championship mid-September. What a return!

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“I feel so good here, it's probably being able to play in front of my family”, appreciated the winner. “I didn't start this last lap the way I hoped, but what matters is how it ends. Those five birdies in a row, it was so good.”

Leading from the first to the third laps, Charley Hull had to lower her flag in a final round where the Englishwoman lacked flamboyance (she played above par, 71). But above all she fell badly against the player of the year, once again in full mastery of her subject. The 12th in the world shares 2nd place with the Chinese Weiwei Zhang and the Korean Jin Hee Im.

Boutier confident before the Tour Championship

If she was never able to take part in the fight for victory, Celine Boutier gained momentum throughout the week in Belleair. The French n°1 conquers a nice top 10 (8th) thanks to an astonishing weekend (two 67s). This Sunday, she didn't trip once. Given the strong gusts that swept the Florida course, this bogey-free card commands respect.

The winner of theEvian Championship 2023 will be in full confidence next week for the LPGA grand final, the Tour Championshipin Naples, still in Florida.

The top 10

Photo : Douglas P. DeFelice / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP