BELLEAIR, Fla. - In pursuit of the final point needed to qualify for the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame, World No. 1 Nelly Korda sits just two-strokes back of first-round leaders Minami Katsu and Hye-Jin Choi at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

Korda, already a three-time winner at Pelican Golf Club, opened with a bogey-free round of 63 following an eight week hiatus from the LPGA Tour. But she’ll not only be chasing down that elusive final point to qualify for the tour’s Hall of Fame, she'll also be trying to keep pace with one of the hottest players on the LPGA Tour in recent weeks in Choi, who carded a career-low round of 61 on Thursday to share the lead with Katsu.

“I think if you miss the green on this course it's going to be really difficult and it's hard to make a good par save,” Choi said while meeting with the media on Thursday in Belleair, Florida. “But I really kept on the greens, so I made a bogey-free round.”

Choi’s low round comes as no surprise to those who have been following her in recent weeks.

In October, Choi also held the lead on day one at the Buick LPGA Shanghai following an opening round of 64, but she faded on day two with a round of 74 and ultimately finished runner-up for the week. In her next start at the BMW Ladies Championship, Choi carded back-to-back rounds of 66 to put herself in the hunt heading into the final day when she closed with a round of 69 to again settle for a share of second.

“I really had a good rounds recently, so today I didn't really have like make big mistakes,” Choi said about her game over the past month. When I had a tournament recently I had really good round on the first round, so I think that it is a good start for me for today. I still have three rounds to play so I'm going to just keep on doing my work.”

Katsu went out in the afternoon wave and posted her low round of the season with a bogey-free, 61 to join Choi atop the leaderboard. Katsu has found success at Pelican Golf Club in the past where she was tied for seventh in 2023.

There were two aces recorded during the opening round of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, both coming at the par three, third hole. Allisen Corpuz was the first to accomplish the feat by jarring a 6-iron from 163 yards. Lindy Duncan, who went out in the afternoon wave, made the second ace of the day when she holed her own 6-iron to begin the first three holes of her round birdie-birdie-ace, a first for the 13-year LPGA Tour member who went on to post a round of 62 to sit just one-stroke off the lead.

“The start was incredible. I've never been 4-under through three, that's for sure,” Duncan said about her hot start to the round. “To make that hole-in-one, it was just wild. I have so many family and friends out watching and they were going crazy. We had to actually try to get them to calm down a little because the holes are pretty close together out here. They were just cheering me on all day. The whole day felt pretty amazing.”

Duncan, like many others in the field, have a lot to play for at the final event of the regular season. The top-60 in the Race to the CME Globe point standings upon conclusion of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican will earn a spot in the field at next week’s CME Group Tour Championship and will have a chance to take home a piece of the $11 mil purse. Duncan began the week ranked at No. 74 in the point standings.

“That's an amazing tournament. It makes up a huge part of the schedule, and you make that tournament and you know you've had a lot of good finishes,” Duncan said about trying to qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship. “But sometimes you work hard and it doesn't happen for you, and you kind of have to accept either way and use it as motivation.”

Korda was near flawless in her first competitive start in eight weeks. Korda missed just one fairway and one green en route to a bogey-free round of 63 on Thursday. Korda said the biggest challenge in getting back to competition after the extended break was simply trusting herself.

“It feels great,” Korda said about her return. “Definitely when you're playing out and practicing there is not as much I would say pressure, but it was nice to kind of feel those juices flowing again, especially playing with Hye-Jin who just had a great round today.”

Rounding out the top five are Ina Yoon, Nicole Broch Estrup, Julia Lopez Ramirez, and Jing Yan who sit three-strokes off the lead following opening rounds of 64.

Sponsor invite Annabelle Pancake-Webb posted an opening round of 65, while amateur Scarlett Schremmer opened with a round of 69, and Wake Forest’s Macy Pate posted a first round of 75.

Defending champion Linn Grant made a series of putting changes in the days leading up to the start of competition and struggled in her opening round by carding three bogeys in her first five holes, but she bounced back with five birdies to post a round of 68 on Thursday.

Korda Trails Katsu and Choi by Two on Day One at The ANNIKA

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