One day into the season and LPGA leaderboards are already on fire, picking up from a dynamic end to 2021. World No. 1 Nelly Korda, a winner last year at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, and sister Jessica Korda, defending champion at the Hilton Grand Vacation Tournament of Champions, are within striking distance of leader Gaby Lopez, who opened with a 5-under 67.
2021 U.S. Women’s Open winner Yuka Saso trails by one along Nelly Korda, Ryann O’Toole and Danielle Kang.
Brooke Henderson, Jessica Korda and Pajaree Anannarukarn are two back at 3 under. The field of 29 are joined by 50 celebrity participants, including LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, who leads them all in a modified stableford scoring format with 33 points.
Last year’s Tournament of Champions at Tranquilo featured a final round pairing of the Korda sisters plus Kang in a thrilling final round. Jessica ultimately edged out Kang in a playoff.
Lopez, the 2020 TOC winner, bogeyed her second hole of the season, a par 5, but bounced back with six birdies over the next 16 holes. Lopez credited work done on the range with her instructor Wednesday along with the energy her celebrity playing partners provided. She has struck up a friendship with former NFL player Marcus Allen over the years.
“I’m comfortable out there,” said Lopez, “being able to talk just different topics other than golf and what you did in the holidays. But being able to talk about mentality and psychology out there, I mean with the biggest superstars in each event out there, it’s pretty amazing. So I really take advantage of that. I like to grow internally.”
More: Lopez shares important advice from legend Lorena Orchoa
Nelly Korda called her first round of the year a grind, despite opening with a 68 that included five birdies and an eagle.
“I was just kind of spraying it everywhere,” said Nelly, “left, right, you name it.”
She hit hybrid from 222 yards to 4 feet on the 11th hole to record her first eagle of the season. Nelly ranked third in that category in 2021.
After the LPGA’s Florida swing, Nelly said she plans to take off six weeks and will consider that her true offseason. Because she played in the PNC Championship in December with her father, there wasn’t a whole lot of downtime.
“Everyone was so welcoming,” she said of her time at the PNC. “I was shocked that everyone knew who I was in a sense. You know, like I grew up watching every one of those guys play, so to me, I was a little starstruck that people actually knew who I was.
“It was cool because they also watch women’s golf. I didn’t know that.”
Michelle Wie West opened with a 1-under 71 thanks to a string of three consecutive birdies on Nos. 11-13. This marked Wie West’s first LPGA round since last June.
“I couldn’t get my wedges close today, said Wie West, who recently moved with her family to Los Angeles. “Made a couple stupid errors early on, but overall I’m very proud of how I played today. Hopefully more birdies to come.”
But first, she was off to lounge at the hotel watching the start of “Archive 81,” a Netflix horror series.