The Annika, driven by Gainbridge, at Pelican, is quite a mouthful to say, so we can refer to it as the Pelican event, or the Annika perhaps. The event is warming up for its 2023 edition and has people talking about it widely. Nelly Korda, the two-time defending champion of the event, is part of the field this time as well. 

Expectations are high on the LPGA cover girl to see her win the title this year too. However, the competition is quite fierce. It’s going to be interesting to see who gets the title winner’s payout. We will also discuss if the prize money has increased this year or not.

Who is likely to win this year’s edition of the Pelican event?

Except for two players in the top 10 Rolex World Rankings, all eight players will be competing in the event. Minjee Lee and Hyo Joo Kim won’t be playing in this tournament. Of the eight players, we also have players with the highest title wins this year. 

Lilia Vu and Celine Boutier both have won three LPGA titles each this year. Meanwhile, World No.1 Ruoning Yin and Jin Young Ko have both earned two LPGA titles each to their names. Nelly Korda, the defending champion, is yet to win a title this year. This could mark her first win. 

Charley Hull came close to winning four different tournaments this year. However, she finished all four as runner-up. She spoke about the frustration of finishing two majors in a year at number two and expressed her urge to win a title. She might find a sudden surge of momentum and go home with this trophy for all we know. 

Of the top 10 Rolex rank holders, Atthaya Thitikul and Lydia Ko also have won no titles this year. Thitikul came close to winning two events and finished in second and third positions. Lydia Ko’s latest win was in November last year at the CME Group Tour Championship. Maybe November’s magic could work for her again.

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Now that we have an idea of the top competitors for the trophy this time, let’s get into what they are competing for. The current year’s purse for the event has been increased significantly. 

The Annika’s total purse and the winner’s payout

The prize money distribution for the Annika Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican follows the general pattern of LPGA’s payouts. The title winner gets 15 percent of the purse, and the share goes down to the last player who makes it to the final round.

Last year the event’s purse was $2 million dollars, and the winner received $300,000. The rise in the purse value is more than 50 percent for this year. For 2023, the event’s purse is $3.25 million, and the winner goes home with $487,500.

With the two-time defending champion Nelly Korda in the field, let’s see if she managed to repeat her magic for the third consecutive time. It would be one great comeback for her after the recent lull. 

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