Nelly Korda added to an amazing family tradition of winning top titles Down Under yesterday by claiming the LPGA Australian Open by two shots in Adelaide and celebrating with a scissors kick.
The world No. 16 American has been the form player of the past few months, and has now scored two wins and two other top-three finishes in her past five events.
In carding a 17-under-par 271 and holding off South Korean challenger Ko Jin-young, Korda joined her father, sister and brother in being crowned an Open champion on Australian soil.
Photo: AFP
Dad Petr got the ball rolling by winning the Australian Open tennis Grand Slam in 1998, beating Marcelo Rios, and celebrated with his trademark scissor kick. Her sister Jessica then won the Australian Open golf title in 2012, duplicating her father’s celebration, as did brother Sebastian when he took out the Australian Open tennis boys’ title last year.
Not to be outdone, Nelly also nailed the “Korda Kick” after her final-round 67.
Just minutes after tapping in a par putt at the 18th hole, she was handed a smartphone and her elder sister was looking at her through Apple’s Facetime app.
“I’m finally a part of the club,” Korda said. “She was pretty much screaming congratulations, she was so happy for me. I mean this win was really special for my family.”
“I think there’s something in the air here,” she added. “We love coming Down Under. I just got off the phone with my Dad and he said: ‘Well, congratulations, you’re part of the Korda Slam now.’”
Korda was the overnight leader and held her nerve despite a bogey on the 15th to beat Ko by two and Taiwan’s Hsu Wei-ling by five.
Thailand’s world No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn finished 15 adrift.
Korda headed to Adelaide’s Grange Golf Club on the back of her first LPGA victory at the Taiwan Championship in October last year, before a second place finish at the Tour Championship in Florida.
She started this year’s campaign in a similar vein, finishing third at Florida’s Tournament of Champions last month.
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