Charley Hull and Nelly Korda are set for a Sunday showdown at The ANNIKA with the Englishwoman leading the world No 1 by a single stroke ahead of the final round.
Hull held a two-stroke advantage over America’s Korda – the player she had thumped 6&4 in September’s Solheim Cup singles – through 36 holes in Belleair after both carded four-under second rounds.
That advantage was cut in half on Saturday as Korda recovered from two bogeys across her first four holes to post a three-under 67, registering six birdies across a 10-hole stretch before dropping a shot at the last to slip to 11 under for the tournament.
Hull also bogeyed her final hole of an eventful back nine, with each of her three birdies coming home followed by an immediate blemish as she signed for a two-under 68 and moved to 12.
The 28-year-old had been six shots in front of Korda as she birdied her first and seventh holes and her rival stuttered on her front nine but now the gap is just one, setting up an intriguing final day.
Hull, Korda bogey final holes in Florida darkness
Both players were unhappy about completing their rounds in near darkness, with Hull, who found the water at 18, saying: “My putt, I could barely see the hole. I couldn’t see the break or anything.”
Korda added: “It’s kind of hard when you don’t really see. I think it was a little bit of poor planning by starting so late for us.
“Whenever you’re sitting on 18 and the sun is already down, it’s never nice, especially with how slick these greens are.”
China’s Weiwei Zhang is alongside Korda on 11 under after a superb eight-under 62 in Florida, with South Korea’s Jin Hee Im and Wichanee Meechai tied for fourth on nine under and Germany’s Olivia Cowan four shots back on eight under.
Korda registered six wins in sevens starts during a glittering period between January and May, with a record-equalling five victories in a row on the LPGA Tour culminating in her claiming a second major of her career, the Chevron Championship.
Should the 26-year-old triumph on Sunday, she will win The ANNIKA for a third time, after back-to-back successes in 2021 and 2022.
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Hull’s previous victory came as recently as earlier this month as she won the Ladies European Tour’s Aramco Team Series – Riyadh for her first trophy worldwide since the Volunteers of America Classic in October 2022.
Watch the final round of The ANNIKA, live on Sky Sports Golf from 7pm on Sunday. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
