A year ago, Bradenton native Nelly Korda captured an LPGA Tour title in her hometown. It wasn’t without drama. Korda shook off some final-round struggles to defeat Lydia Ko in a playoff at Bradenton Country Club in 2024. The victory was the first of five wins in five starts for Korda.
She finished the season with seven wins, cementing her spot as the No. 1 ranked player in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings and the Rolex Player of the Year award. On the eve of the LPGA Tour’s return to Bradenton Country Club, Korda reflected on her hometown win. “I just couldn’t get really anything going on Sunday, and then my last two holes, I mean, to go eagle, birdie, especially with the pin on 18, was pretty incredible,” Korda said. “I mean, I don’t know where I pulled that out of, but I did.”
Ko, who is ranked No. 3 in the world, is also back at Bradenton Country Club, 4646 Ninth Ave. W., Bradenton. The LPGA Tour stop has a new name this year. It’s the 2025 Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands. LPGA Tour raises stakes with ‘harsher rules’ That’s not the only change. The tour held a meeting with players Tuesday to discuss a new pace of play policy, where penalties would get implemented for slow play, according to Golf Digest. “I’m very excited about it,” Korda said. “I think that’s one of the things that I’ve just noticed over my time on Tour, is that we used to go from five hours, under five hours, to now … it’s just five and a half, typically, our rounds.”
Korda added: “So I think that implementing harsher rules is going to be good for the game of golf. They were saying at the meeting, at the end of the day, we’re a form of entertainment. If we’re taking really long out there, I mean, that’s not entertaining.” The tournament begins Thursday with the final round scheduled for Sunday. Tee times start Thursday at 7:15 a.m. with split tees. The final groups tee off at 1:23 p.m. Korda begins her title defense at 8:21 a.m. Where to buy tickets? Daily tickets, beginning at $39 for general admission, can be purchased at SeatGeek.com. General admission weekly passes start at $129.
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