Nelly Korda Chases a Fourth Pelican Title and Her Hall of Fame Point as The ANNIKA Opens in Belleair

Nelly Korda opened her bid for a fourth title at Pelican Golf Club on Thursday as The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican teed off in Belleair, with the world's top-ranked player one victory away from qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame. The 72-hole tournament in Pinellas County carries a $3.25 million purse and runs through Sunday, Nov. 15.

It is the next-to-last event of the 2026 LPGA Tour season, and both of the tour's final two stops are in Florida. The season-ending CME Group Tour Championship follows next week, Nov. 19 to 22, at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples.

Korda's Hall of Fame math

Korda, 28, clinched the LPGA's points-based Rolex Player of the Year award on Nov. 3, her second in three years, according to the Associated Press. That award brought her total to 26 points under the LPGA Hall of Fame's point system, one short of the 27 required. A regular tour victory is worth one point, so a win at Pelican or at the CME Group Tour Championship would complete her qualification.

Her 2026 season has already been one of the best of her career. She won four times, including two majors, The Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women's Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, the first time that event was held at Riviera. She opened the year by winning the Tournament of Champions in Orlando, which was shortened to 54 holes because of cold and wind, and then won or finished second in six consecutive starts, according to the AP.

Korda wrapped up the player of the year race with three tournaments left after two of her closest pursuers, Japan's Miyu Yamashita and Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul, did not enter The ANNIKA, leaving them unable to catch her mathematically. South Korea's Haeran Ryu, a double major winner this season, withdrew from the Maybank Championship in Malaysia last month with an injury. Korda skipped the tour's four-week Asia swing, as she often does, and planned to finish her season with the two Florida events.

Inbee Park reached the LPGA Hall of Fame requirements at 27, so Korda would not be the youngest to qualify, the AP noted.

Her record at Pelican

Few players have owned a course the way Korda has owned Pelican. She won the tournament in 2021 and 2022, when it was called the Pelican Women's Championship, and again in 2024, when she finished at 14-under 266 for the third of her titles in four seasons at the club. Korda grew up in Bradenton, on the other side of Tampa Bay, making the Pinellas stop close to a home event. Florida bookends her season: she started 2026 with a win in Orlando and will finish it in Naples.

The defending champion is Sweden's Linn Grant, who closed with a 5-under 65 last November to win by three strokes over Jennifer Kupcho. Grant played in Wednesday's pro-am and posed for photos with fans, according to Tampa Bay Times photos from the course.

The event's champions since it arrived in Belleair:

Kim and Vu were among Thursday's early starters, and a tournament release last week said every past champion had entered.

The field and the format

Conditions at the start were mild: ESPN's course weather listed 71 degrees and mostly cloudy skies Thursday morning, with a 40 percent chance of rain. The tournament is a standard 72-hole stroke-play event with a cut after the second round, according to ESPN's tournament listing. Pelican Golf Club plays as a par 70 at 6,349 yards, with two par 5s, the 495-yard seventh and the 529-yard 14th, and four par 3s.

Beyond Korda and the former champions, the early starters Thursday included England's Lottie Woad, Australia's Grace Kim, South Korea's Hye-Jin Choi, who finished second at the LPGA Shanghai event in October, 2023 U.S. Women's Open champion Allisen Corpuz, Germany's Esther Henseleit, Sweden's Ingrid Lindblad and France's Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, according to ESPN's leaderboard.

The $3.25 million purse is one of the larger ones on the tour outside the majors. A payout breakdown published by Golf News Net before the event put the winner's share at $487,500.

What is at stake beyond the trophy

For much of the field, the more pressing number is the Race to the CME Globe. The season-long points standings determine who qualifies for next week's CME Group Tour Championship, where the field is limited to the top 60 players and ties after The ANNIKA, and players on the bubble have one more week to play their way in. The Naples finale carries an $11 million purse, according to ESPN, and Thitikul is its defending champion.

The standings also matter for next season. When the tournament was played a year ago, the top 100 in the Race to the CME Globe after The ANNIKA earned full LPGA Tour status for the following year, and the 2027 stakes are rising: the LPGA released its 2027 schedule in October with 33 tournaments and a record $147 million in prize money, according to ESPN.

Sorenstam's name, and a Tampa Bay charity tie

The tournament has carried the name of Swedish Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam since 2023. Sorenstam played in Wednesday's pro-am, where a small gallery followed Korda's group to the ninth green and NASCAR driver Michael McDowell worked as a celebrity caddie, according to Times photos.

Korda wore custom golf shoes in the pro-am decorated with artwork by Mary Kate Waymack, a 7-year-old AdventHealth pediatric patient, as part of the tournament's Kicks for a Cause program. Artist Katie Shaffstall transferred the design onto the shoes, and Korda signed autographs for the girl after her round, the Times reported.

What's next

Play continues Friday with the second round, after which the field is cut for the weekend. The final round is Sunday. Korda then heads to Naples for the CME Group Tour Championship, the last tournament of the season and her final chance in 2026 to secure the Hall of Fame point if she does not win at Pelican.