The ANNIKA, formerly the Pelican Women's Championship, is a women's professional golf tournament in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
on the
LPGA Tour
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Florida, and is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekl ...
. A new event in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, it was played at
Pelican Golf Club in
Belleair near
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
.
Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda (born July 28, 1998) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour, where she has won seven times and reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Korda won the Olympic gold medal at the women's individual ...
won the 2021 event in a playoff over defending champion
Kim Sei-young
Kim Sei-young (born 21 January 1993), also known as Sei Young Kim, is a South Korean professional golfer.
Kim plays on the LPGA of Korea Tour and the LPGA Tour. She has won five times on the LPGA of Korea Tour and twelve times on the LPGA Tour ...
,
Lexi Thompson
Alexis Noel Thompson (born February 10, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 12, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women's Open. She turned professional in June 2010 at age 15. ...
, and
Lydia Ko
Lydia Ko (born 24 April 1997) is a New Zealand professional golfer and the No. 1-ranked woman professional golfer. She first achieved the top ranking on 2 February 2015 at of age, making her the youngest player of either gender to be ranked ...
.
The 2022 event was scheduled to be held November 10–13, but the Thursday, November 10 start date was eliminated due to the approach of
Hurricane Nicole with rain and strong winds, and the tournament was shortened to 54 holes.
The storm hit with a wind, and rain fell on the
Tampa Bay area
The Tampa Bay area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the United St ...
on Thursday. The sandy subsoil allowed for rapid drainage of the rainwater, and the golf course crew worked overnight so that play could begin as proposed at 6:55am on Friday, by which time the course was in notably good shape.
Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda (born July 28, 1998) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour, where she has won seven times and reached number one in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Korda won the Olympic gold medal at the women's individual ...
successfully defended her title with a 1-shot victory over
Lexi Thompson
Alexis Noel Thompson (born February 10, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. At age 12, she was the youngest golfer ever to qualify to play in the U.S. Women's Open. She turned professional in June 2010 at age 15. ...
for her first LPGA win of the 2022 season after missing the majority of the first half due to a
blood clot
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...
in her right arm.
Tournament names
*2020–2022: Pelican Women's Championship
*2023–present: The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican
Winners
Tournament record
References
External links
Coverage on the LPGA Tour's official site*
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LPGA Tour events
Golf tournaments in Florida
Women's sports in Florida
Recurring sporting events established in 2020
2020 establishments in Florida