BELLEAIR, Fla. – “Helluva putt Nelly!”
LeBron James, apparently now a certified golf sicko, was locked into Friday’s coverage of The Annika driven by Gainbridge. The NBA superstar took to X to share his excitement after Korda drained a birdie putt at Pelican Golf Club’s par-4 18th hole – her third straight and seventh of the day – to card a sizzling 7-under 63.
Korda was thrilled by the high-profile support.
“I mean, it’s so cool, especially playing on Wednesday with [WNBA star] Caitlin [Clark],” Korda said when asked about James’ tweet. “I actually did see he tweeted about my shoes, too, so it’s cool to see all these legends get into the game of golf.”
The 26-year-old is making herself right at home at Pelican once again. She’s a three-time winner at this course, including last year’s tournament, and Friday’s performance showed why. Korda was nearly flawless, hitting every fairway and missing just one green in regulation throughout her round.
What makes this performance even more impressive is the timing. This is Korda’s first tournament since tying for fourth at the Lotte Championship in early October. She’s been sidelined while rehabbing another neck injury, but showed no signs of rust as she positioned herself just three shots behind co-leaders Grace Kim and Linn Grant at 6-under heading into the weekend.
“When you’re away for a little bit you miss it a lot, so I love playing at home,” Korda said. “I love playing in front of my family. It’s good to recharge your batteries, too. The year is long, and we have lot of obligations sometimes off the golf course, too…”
“This is what I love to do. I love to compete, and I love to play some good golf.”
And James loves watching it.
