Tag: 2023 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican

2023 The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican prize money payouts for each LPGA player

Lilia Vu earned $487,500 for her fourth win of the 2023 season.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Lilia Vu crossed the $4 million mark in career earnings after collecting her fourth victory of 2023 at The Annika driven by Gainbridge. Vu earned $487,500 for her three-stroke triumph, bringing her season earnings to $3,252,303. The Annika featured one of the highest non-major purses of the season at $3.25 million.

Seventy-eight percent of Vu’s career earnings have been made this season. The two-time major winner now leads the LPGA money list with one event remaining. Next week’s CME Group Tour Championship boasts a purse of $7 million and a winner’s check of $2 million.

Check out how much money each LPGA player earned this week at The Annika:

Position Name Score Earnings
1 Lilia Vu -19 $487,500
T2 Alison Lee -16 $262,260
T2 Azahara Munoz -16 $262,260
4 Amy Yang -15 $170,594
T5 Stephanie Kyriacou -14 $124,827
T5 Emily Kristine Pedersen -14 $124,827
T7 Ariya Jutanugarn -13 $76,061
T7 Lexi Thompson -13 $76,061
T7 Ruoning Yin -13 $76,061
T7 Megan Khang -13 $76,061
T7 Minami Katsu -13 $76,061
T12 Hae Ran Ryu -12 $54,700
T12 Wei-Ling Hsu -12 $54,700
T12 Gaby Lopez -12 $54,700
T15 Linn Grant -11 $45,714
T15 Rachel Kuehn (a) -11 $0
T15 Amanda Doherty -11 $45,714
T15 Patty Tavatanakit -11 $45,714
T19 In Gee Chun -10 $39,029
T19 Bianca Pagdanganan -10 $39,029
T19 Brooke M. Henderson -10 $39,029
T19 Wichanee Meechai -10 $39,029
T23 Grace Kim -9 $34,952
T23 Sarah Schmelzel -9 $34,952
T25 Charley Hull -8 $30,042
T25 Allisen Corpuz -8 $30,042
T25 Cydney Clanton -8 $30,042
T25 Jasmine Suwannapura -8 $30,042
T25 Chanettee Wannasaen -8 $30,042
T25 Nelly Korda -8 $30,042
T31 Atthaya Thitikul -7 $23,205
T31 Jeongeun Lee5 -7 $23,205
T31 Pornanong Phatlum -7 $23,205
T31 Jin Young Ko -7 $23,205
T31 Ally Ewing -7 $23,205
T31 Lydia Ko -7 $23,205
T31 Lindy Duncan -7 $23,205
T38 Leona Maguire -6 $17,726
T38 Gabriela Ruffels -6 $17,726
T38 Jodi Ewart Shadoff -6 $17,726
T38 Dewi Weber -6 $17,726
T38 Matilda Castren -6 $17,726
T38 Gina Kim -6 $17,726
T44 Maria Fassi -5 $14,979
T44 Soo Bin Joo -5 $14,979
T46 Nicole Broch Estrup -4 $13,398
T46 Caroline Inglis -4 $13,398
T46 Georgia Hall -4 $13,398
T46 Louise Rydqvist (a) -4 $0
T46 Jaravee Boonchant -4 $13,398
T51 Pernilla Lindberg -3 $11,179
T51 Hye-Jin Choi -3 $11,179
T51 Yuna Nishimura -3 $11,179
T51 Carlota Ciganda -3 $11,179
T51 Jeongeun Lee6 -3 $11,179
T51 Muni He -3 $11,179
T57 Sarah Kemp -2 $9,653
T57 Ruixin Liu -2 $9,653
T57 Perrine Delacour -2 $9,653
60 Elizabeth Szokol -1 $8,987
T61 Polly Mack E $8,100
T61 Ashleigh Buhai E $8,100
T61 Olivia Cowan E $8,100
T61 Eun-Hee Ji E $8,100
T61 Hinako Shibuno E $8,100
T61 Aline Krauter E $8,100
T67 Gemma Dryburgh 1 $7,406
T67 Anna Nordqvist 1 $7,406
69 Frida Kinhult 5 $7,158
70 Min Lee 6 $6,989

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5 things to know from The Annika, where American Lilia Vu won her fourth title of 2023

Everything you need to know from a busy Sunday at Pelican Golf Club.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Lilia Vu rose to No. 1 in the world and took the lead in the Rolex LPGA Player of the Year race when she came from three strokes back to win by three at Pelican Golf Club on Sunday.

Vu, a two-time major winner this season, gave her winner’s press conference right next to Annika Sorenstam, tournament host for the newly renamed Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

It always bummed Vu that she didn’t win The Annika Award for college player of year while at UCLA.

“I’m finally super excited to win something with your name on it,” said Vu, who actually won the Rolex Annika Major Award this year, too.

But while much attention is given to the top of the leaderboard, and rightly so, there’s always so much drama going on further down as players vie for a chance to play at CME and keep their cards.

Two of the biggest names who didn’t make the 60-player field in Naples, Florida, include defending champion Lydia Ko and Lexi Thompson, reminding us once again of how quickly things can turn.

Here are five storylines from a sun-splashed Sunday in Florida, where so much was on the line:

5 things to know from The Annika, where scores are low and tensions are high

Catch up on the action here.

BELLEAIR, Florida – There’s really no other tournament on the LPGA schedule quite like this one. Everyone, it seems, has something to play for that’s bigger than this week. Whether it’s Player of the Year points, a chance to tee it up at CME for a $7 million purse or the fight to keep a tour card, there’s no shortage of storylines at the newly renamed Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

Lexi Thompson, for example, needs to finish in at least a share of third to have a chance to qualify for CME. She’s currently T-12. Patty Tavatanakit came into this week 61st on the CME points list. The top 60 and ties will play next week in Naples, Florida, at the CME Group Tour Championship. The major champ is currently T-4 and projected to jump to 50th.

Emily Kristine Pedersen came into the week 80th on the CME points list. The top 80 on tour have Category 1 status, which means they’ll get into the limited-field Asian events next spring. Pedersen didn’t come to Belleair just to hang on, however. The surprise Solheim Cup pick who delivered in Spain is enjoying her best week on tour with a three-stroke lead after rounds of 63-65-64.

Sunday at Pelican promises to be a shootout. Here are five things to know from a red-hot day:

Stacy Lewis says she believes it’s impossible to be a playing captain at the Solheim

Stacy Lewis will captain once again in 2024 but don’t expect her to try to play at the same time.

BELLEAIR, Florida — Stacy Lewis left the door open to be a playing captain in 2023. She had a plan in place in case she automatically qualified. In the end, captainship duties took a toll on her personal game. Once she actually got to Spain and went through a Solheim Cup in that role, well, let’s just say it won’t happen in 2024.

“After experiencing Spain,” said Lewis. “I really don’t think you can captain and play.”

Lewis then proceeded to detail for reporters at The Annika what a typical day looked like for her at Finca Cortesin, noting that she had one day the entire week that she actually sat down for lunch. The rest of the time her cart driver, Megan Francella, kept handing her half of a peanut butter sandwich.

It was important for Lewis to be on the first tee for all the players because she liked it when captains did that in the past.

“Because of that, those morning matches finish and then there is basically probably about 20 or 30 minutes before the next matches are starting,” she said. “Then you finish in the evening and you have got an hour to get pairings in and then have to do media and come back and the team has eaten dinner and they want to go to bed.

“You meet with the team and it’s 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m., and it’s oh, I get to eat dinner now.”

Captain Stacy Lewis of Team USA and Danielle Kang of Team USA plan a shot from the first tee during Day One of The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 22, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

On practice days, Lewis divided up the team so they could play when they wanted do. Some played early and some teed off around noon. It made for great flexibility for the players, but long days for Lewis.

“There is definitely no way to captain and play,” she reiterated.

Lewis came into The Annika off a four-week stretch at home, the longest she’s enjoyed in quite some time. She appreciated having two full weeks to hone her game, much needed after five consecutive missed cuts.

Lewis came into the week 83rd on the CME points list and likely won’t make it into next week’s CME Group Tour Championship. The former No. 1 will once again lead Team USA at the 2024 Solheim Cup Sept. 13-15 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia.

Lydia Ko fell from No. 1 to outside the top 100 on the CME points list — what does it mean for next year?

Ko isn’t like most players ranked outside the top 100. She has options.

It’s hard to believe that just over one year ago, Lydia Ko was quite literally on top of the world. It was at this time last year that Ko enjoyed what she called a Cinderella story, sweeping the postseason awards in a comeback year that ended with a dreamy wedding ceremony in South Korea.

Now, Ko tees it up this week in the newly renamed Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican event looking to sneak into the top 100 on the LPGA priority list. The top 100 positions on the CME list are considered full cardholders. Ko currently sits at 101.

Ko, however, who opened with a 3-under 67 at Pelican on Thursday, isn’t like most players ranked outside the top 100. She has options.

More: 10 LPGA players to watch on the CME bubble, including Lexi Thompson and ’22 champ Lydia Ko

Should Ko finish outside the top 100 on the points list this season, she could play out of the winner’s category in 2024. Category 4 includes winners of the past two seasons as well as the current season. Ko won three times in 2022.

Another option Ko could use down the road is Category No. 2, which includes members in the top 20 on the Career Money List as of the end of the previous season. Players can compete under this category twice in their careers. (Ko currently ranks fifth on the career money list with $16,919,487.)

2022 CME Group Tour Championship
Lydia Ko poses for a photo with the Vare Trophy, the Rolex Player of the Year trophy and the CME Globe trophy after winning the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 20, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Although Ko has sounded at times this year like she might be winding down, the two-time Olympic medalist has her sights set on Paris next summer as well as the LPGA Hall of Fame. She’s currently two points shy of the 27 needed to qualify.

Ko currently has 228.571 CME points. Azahara Munoz occupies the 100th spot at 234.273. For Ko to qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship, which she won last season, she would have to finish 60th or higher on the list. Bianca Pagdanganan currently holds the 60th spot at 528.780. Ko would need at least a first (500 points) or second (320 points) at Pelican to have a chance.

Photos: Lydia Ko through the years

The top category on the LPGA priority list, which is used to fill tournament fields, is the top 80 on the CME points from the year prior. That’s as good as it gets. Category 1 is used to fill limited-field events at the start of the year like the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore and the Honda LPGA Thailand. Ko entered the 2023 season No. 1 on the entire list.

Players who finish 81st to 100th on the CME list fall into Category 11.

Those who fall between Nos. 101 to 125 are in Category 16. These folks might want to consider going to Q-Series later this year to improve their status. The top 45 finishers from Q-Series fall in Categories 14 and 15 and are listed in the order they finish.

Those who finish 126-150 fall in No. 19 of 20 total categories. They’ll also be heading back to Q-Series and possibly the Epson Tour.

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Patty Tavatanakit, one of several major champions not yet in CME field, opens with 63 at The Annika

Here’s a look at the CME bubble.

Time is running out for players like Patty Tavatanakit. The top 60 players and ties on the Race to CME Globe points list qualify for the season-ending championship, and this week’s Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican is the final event before the list is finalized.

Tavatanakit, who currently sits 61st on the points list, opened with a 7-under 63 on a picture-perfect day at Pelican Golf Club to hold a share of the lead with former No. 1 Jin Young Ko.

“I’ve been like preparing for this event,” said Tavanatakit, the 2021 ANA Inspiration winner. “Obviously I knew what I had to do. I’m pretty stressed, but at the same time, I feel like I did everything under my control. I did everything with no regrets.”

The CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club offers the largest non-major purse on the LPGA at $7 million. The CME winner receives $2 million.

There are a number of high-profile major winners currently on the outside looking in. Here’s a list of bubble players as well as some stars who need a big week:

Renewed Lexi Thompson needs another big week at The Annika to qualify for LPGA season-ender

Thompson has had her share of success at Pelican.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Two weeks before the Solheim Cup, U.S. captain Stacy Lewis told Lexi Thompson at the LPGA stop in Cincinnati that she wasn’t going to play her in alternate shot. Thompson could’ve gotten mad, Lewis said, but instead used it as motivation.

When Thompson arrived in Spain, Lewis saw a different player. Armed with a new swing thought from instructor Tony Ruggiero, whom she started working with the month prior, Thompson’s ball-striking returned to form. Players kept coming up to Lewis to tell her that Lexi was back. And the advanced strokes-gained numbers that Lewis received were “off the charts.”

With only a handful of holes left in a Thursday practice round, Lewis asked Thompson and Megan Khang if they could play alternate shot together on Friday, something that hadn’t previously been discussed.

Later that night, Lewis told the team that Thompson was going to hit the first tee shot.

“I can’t tell you the words that were said,” said Lewis, “but everybody was fired up and ready to go.”

Suddenly Thompson, a 28-year-old player who had missed more cuts than she’d made this season, was the leading player on Team USA, and she delivered, with a 3-1-0 record.

2023 Solheim Cup
Lexi Thompson of Team USA plays her shot on the second hole during Day Three of The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 24, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

While Thompson is reluctant to share what she and Ruggiero work on exactly, the 11-time winner did credit his arrival on the scene with turning her season around.

“He texts me every day,” said Thompson, “asking how I’m doing, keeping in touch. That’s all I need. I just need somebody there to support me and really just there checking in on me. Even if I’m playing good every day, it’s still somebody asking.”

This week, Thompson tees it up in the newly renamed Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, where she’s been runner-up to Nelly Korda the past two seasons. It’s her first start since that inspired run at making the cut on the PGA Tour.

Thompson said Pelican Golf Club, an exclusive club in Belleair, Florida, is in the best shape she’s ever seen it. She appreciates that she can play aggressively here and hit driver more than most tour shops. Her familiarity with Bermudagrass helps massively.

Ruggiero has worked with a number of male touring pros over the years. Former students include Lucas Glover and Robby Shelton. Thompson appreciates his straightforward approach.

“Tony will tell you how it is and that’s great for me,” she said. “That’s how I respond. We laugh together and it’s not super uptight.”

Lewis pored over statistics throughout the 2023 season and notes that Thompson’s putting has been strong all season but her ball-striking, particularly her driver is what’s held her back. That’s the opposite of Thompson’s traditional game.

Now, with her long game turned around, Thompson is once again playing with confidence, lifted not only by the Solheim Cup, but that second-round 69 last month at the Shriners Children’s Open.

Thompson averaged 301 yards off the tee over two rounds in Las Vegas and tied for 13th in driving accuracy against the men, hitting 20 of 28 fairways.

“You could see it coming,” said Lewis.

“I hope she can learn from that moment and stay aggressive with driver, even on some of those shorter golf courses.”

Over the last two years at Pelican, Thompson has one-putted 46 percent of the greens at this event and led the field in Strokes Gained: Putting. She gained 1.76 strokes per round on the greens in 2021 and 2022 combined.

This week, however, she’s playing for something more than a title.

Thompson currently ranks 88th on the CME points list. The top 60 and ties at the end of this week qualify for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, where Thompson is a past champion.

Bianca Pagdanganan currently ranks 60th on the points list at 528.780. Thompson is 223.88 points behind her. A third-place finish is worth 230 points and a second is worth 320.

Thompson’s trying not to think about it.

“If I focus on that,” she said, “it will just get me off track this week.”

LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam now hosts one of the tour’s premiere events

BELLEAIR, Florida – Nelly Korda first met Annika Sorenstam at the LPGA legend’s namesake AJGA event. Like many in this week’s LPGA field, Korda’s first recollection of Sorenstam is her putting on a junior clinic. Today’s players can quite literally …

BELLEAIR, Florida – Nelly Korda first met Annika Sorenstam at the LPGA legend’s namesake AJGA event. Like many in this week’s LPGA field, Korda’s first recollection of Sorenstam is her putting on a junior clinic. Today’s players can quite literally play in events around the world that bear Sorenstam’s name. The college player of the year wins the Annika Award; the player who fares the best at the LPGA majors each year wins the Rolex Annika Major Award.

It’s only fitting then, that one of the premiere stops on the LPGA schedule now bears her name, too. The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, which started in 2020 but was rebranded this year, boasts one of the biggest purses on the LPGA schedule outside the majors at $3.25 million and a stacked field.

“I think it’s important to have history involved in the current game,” said former No. 1 Stacy Lewis. “I think it’s important for these girls to know the players that have come before them.”

While other LPGA greats have had their names on events throughout the history of the tour – the Betsy King Classic, the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, the Babe Zaharias Open, to name a few – Sorenstam’s is the only current event that carries a player’s name.

“I love to see these young girls living their dream,” said Sorenstam. “I’ve seen some from 16 years back, whether it’s Nelly Korda, Alison Lee, Leona Maguire.”

Of the 120 players in the field this week, 57 have competed in Sorenstam’s events, including the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, which Sorenstam co-hosts with fellow Swede Henrik Stenson. Eight of the top 10 players in the world are there this week, including two-time defending champion Nelly Korda and the three players vying for Rolex Players of Year: Celine Boutier, Lilia Vu and Ruoning Yin.

On the PGA Tour, events hosted by Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and the late Arnold Palmer are the gold standard in the men’s game.

Sorenstam wants the same at Pelican, an exclusive Tampa-area club whose membership includes Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley. Sorenstam, of course, is Augusta National’s newest member.

“It starts everywhere from, I mean, parking lot, right, to locker room, to practice area, to lunch, everything that they somewhat touch,” said Sorenstam. “Sometimes it’s really small things you might not think about, like you said.

“So I like to listen and learn from them. At the end of the day, we want the players to go home and say, I’m coming back and I’m bringing so and so with them.”

Annika Sorenstam strolls the range at her new namesake event on the LPGA. (courtesy photo)

South Carolina junior Louise Rydqvist won the Annika Intercollegiate in Minnesota earlier this year to earn a spot in this week’s field. Rydqvist has grown up playing in Sorenstam’s events, starting with the Annika Cup in Sweden. Rydqvist went to high school with Solheim Cup players Linn Grant and Maja Stark – and Ryder Cupper Ludvig Aberg – and has the same swing coach as another member of Suzann Pettersen’s team, Madelene Sagstrom.

Rydqvist, who is also getting an advanced look at where the SEC Championship will be played next spring, learned that a victory at the Annika Intercollegiate came with an LPGA exemption when she read about it on the drive to the course before the final round.

Rydqvist’s prep work for this week’s event included a chat with the host herself on Sorenstam’s SiriusXM radio show, where they talked about strategy.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Rydqvist of the opportunity that’s before her.

Sorenstam won the inaugural Betsy King Classic in 1996 and backed it up with a victory in 1997. She also won the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship twice, which was hosted by Nancy Lopez.

This week, she hopes to have a similar impact to what some of the game’s greatest had on her.

“I think the purpose of this event is to inspire the next generation, whether it’s Linn Grant in there or whoever it might be,” said Sorenstam.

“You hope they’re going to see an event like this, or event like Nancy’s, that hopefully one day they want to follow in the same footsteps, and pay forward or bring the game to the next level and just inspire some young girl or boy down the road. I think that’s really what to me these type of events mean. It’s elevating them to a level we haven’t seen before. Not just the quality of the course, the food, and the partnerships, but the memories, how it touches your heart. When you leave here, what do you feel.”

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Nelly Korda hires new putting coach, looks to three-peat at Pelican Golf Club

“Before I was kind of blind going to a putting green. I did it myself,” Korda said.

Nelly Korda comes to Annika Sorenstam’s namesake event on the LPGA hoping to do something the LPGA legend accomplished twice in her career: win an event three years in a row.

Korda’s last victory on the LPGA came last year at Pelican Golf Club, where she beat fellow Floridian Lexi Thompson by a stroke. Two years ago, Korda triumphed in a sudden-death playoff over Lydia Ko, 2020 champion Sei Young Kim and Thompson. Korda was not in the field in 2020 due to a back injury sustained at the KPMG Women’s PGA.

The penultimate event on the LPGA calendar was renamed The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican for 2023 and features a purse of $3,250,000. Sorenstam won the McDonald’s LPGA Championship from 2003 to 2005 and the Mizuno Classic from 2001 to 2005. Inbee Park was the last player to win three consecutive events at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship from 2013-15.

“To three-peat, obviously there is pressure that I want to perform,” said Korda, “but I try not to think about it.”

Korda was grinding on the practice green Tuesday with putting instructor Eric Dietrich. The pair first began working together around the Solheim Cup, and she has since switched her grip and her putter. Korda said she feels more organized after making the move to Dietrich.

“Felt like I just have a plan now, or I have tendencies that I know about that I can always go into a drill and kind of work on those tendencies,” said Korda.

“Where before I was kind of blind going to a putting green. I did it myself.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx6egkBtY5h/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D&img_index=1

Korda has switched from a left-hand low grip back to a conventional grip. She also began using a mallet putter for the first time in her career at the LPGA stop in South Korea last month.

“Honestly, I haven’t been putting bad,” she said. “I’ve been in contention a bunch this year. It’s just I want to improve. I want to improve in every part of my game, and I just thought this was a necessary change to that.”

Photos: Nelly Korda through the years

Korda has a 65.571 scoring average at Pelican through seven rounds. The grass, the weather, the fact that her family can drive to watch her compete all factor into her success here. The eight-time LPGA winner has eight top-10 finishes this season. She took a month off midseason to nurse a lower back injury.

“I talked about it a couple times like where the beginning of the year golf felt in a sense like I don’t want to take it for granted,” she said, “but it felt easy, top 10-ing, playing well, and being in contention.

“Then I got injured and just felt hard to get back into that flow. I somehow like had a hard time finding it, so that’s kind of why I brought Eric in. And with Jamie (Mulligan), we’re all working really hard on my entire game. Hopefully, we can continue improving, but it’s more about the consistency.”

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