Nelly Korda jokes about overworking her physio before The Annika – “She needs a vacation”

Nelly Korda won The Annika Driven by Gainbridge At Pelican on Sunday (November 17). The World No. 1 golfer overhauled England's Charley Hull on the back nine to clinch her third title in the competition. She finished with a round of 67 and a total of 14 under to continue a highly successful run of form on the LPGA Tour.

Notably, this was Korda’s comeback to a competitive event field after a break. For the unversed, the 26-year-old suffered a neck injury in her practice leading up to the Asia swing. This happened while she was trying to manage her migraine pain.

Following the injury, the golfer withdrew from a pair of tournaments in South Korea and Malaysia and was in rehab with her physio trainer Kim Baughman.

She marked her return with a win and made sure to thank her physio for it. Revealing that she was working three times a day with Baughman to strengthen her neck, Korda noted that the latter deserved a “vacation” that she’d “gladly pay for.”

Replying to a media query on whether she’d give a ‘shoutout’ to her physio, Nelly Korda said during her winner’s presser at The Annika, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“Kimberlina (Baughman). A lot of time… It's a lot of neck strengthening. A lot of it. I mean, it was three times a day that I was seeing her and she lived 40 minutes away. So, she was coming to my house three times a day. Before and after practice. I mean, to every work out. I think she needs a vacation that I will gladly pay for.”

Furthermore, Korda revealed that she might’ve also managed to beat her own recovery timeline by returning to The Annika earlier than expected.

She added:

“I don't know the exact timeline. Everyone’s body is different. For some people may take maybe a little slower. For others a little faster. I was seeing Kim for rehab three times a day. I really did want to play these last three events.

"If my body wasn't cooperating, I knew it wasn't going to be smart to play these two, but I was happy with the progress that I was making. Didn't really play for too long before this event. Didn't really know what to expect going into this event.”

Nelly Korda remembered to thank her whole team. She revealed that ‘Team Korda’ had a mini-boot camp to prepare her for the week. The LPGA star noted that her swing coach Jamie Mulligan flew across the country to work with her, while her first coach, David Whelan, and caddie, Jason McDede, also prepared her for The Annika.

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Nelly Korda wins her third LPGA’s Annika event title

Nelly Korda won again at the Pelican Golf Club. The World No. 1, in her first LPGA event in two months, entered the back nine a stroke behind leader Charley Hull. She shared the position with six others. However, the 26-year-old rattled off five straight birdies to close three-under 67 and finish at 14 under.

Korda bagged her third The Annika event title in just her fourth appearance. This was her seventh LPGA win of the season, the first time anyone won seven times in a year since Yani Tseng in 2011. Notably, Korda is the first American to do so since Hall of Famer Beth Daniel’s incredible 1990 season.

Nelly Korda said after her win:

“It's so nice to play in front of friends and family so close to home. I think that's what makes me so comfortable out here. Didn't start the day the way I wanted to, but it's not how you start it's how you finish. To have that run that I did on those five holes, yeah, just kept myself in it all day.”

Tournament host Annika Sorenstam also lauded Nelly Korda’s run of form and stated that the latter has “set the bar so high.”