Korda sisters tee it up at British Open

Bradenton natives Jessica and Nelly Korda are teeing it up this week in the Ricoh Women’s British Open, the fourth of five majors on the LPGA Tour this season.

Jessica Korda begins the tournament at 7:47 a.m. Thursday, while Nelly starts at 12:38 p.m.

In six previous Women’s British Open starts, Jessica has made the cut twice, and her best finish was a tie for third in 2014. She’s missed the cut the past two years.

Nelly is an LPGA Tour rookie and has never played in the Women’s British Open.

Bradenton and Sarasota golfers team at Florida Four-Ball

Braden River High alumnus Andrew Hammett teamed with Sarasota’s Jeremy Perna to tie for 13th in the recent Florida State Golf Association’s Four-Ball Championship.

Playing Trump National Doral Golf Club’s Golden Palm and Blue Monster courses, the duo carded a 70-71–141 total for the 36-hole tournament. They finished six shots behind the winning team of Fort Meade’s Tiger Godwin and Lakeland’s Kelly Sellers.

One county golfer vying for Florida Match Play title

Lakewood Ranch’s Kuihao Huang is the lone Manatee County golfer teeing it up at this week’s FSGA Amateur Match Play Championship at Brooksville’s Southern Hills Plantation Golf Club.

The tournament begins Thursday with a stroke-play round to determine seeding.

Last year, three Bradenton players qualified for the match-play portion of the tourney at East Manatee’s Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club. Ryan Southworth and Philip Knowles both won their first-round match before getting eliminated in the round of 32. Lakewood Ranch High alumnus Danny Walker was eliminated in the first round last year.

Walker tied for 10th at The Players Amateur in Bluffton, S.C., last month. Knowles won the tournament to earn a berth in next year’s RBC Heritage, a PGA Tour event held on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Walker carded a 7-under 277 total for the 72-hole tournament to finish six shots behind Knowles, who won in a sudden-death playoff over South Carolina native Bryson Nimmer.

Junior golf update

Bradenton’s Matthew Bruton won the boys 16-18 division of the Greater Sarasota Junior Golf Association’s Elite Junior Tour’s Bill Rogers Memorial Championship last week.

Bruton posted a 75-74–149 for a 10-shot victory over Sarasota’s Stephen Rauch at The Oaks Golf Club in Osprey.

Other top performances from the tournament: Bradenton’s Robbie Higgins (boys 13-15s, second place, 157 total); Bradenton’s Bryan Choi (boys 13-15s, tied for third, 158); Bradenton’s Ashleigh Angelo (girls 16-18s, fourth, 160) and Bradenton’s Timothy Williamson (boys 12-and-younger, second, 152).

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Korda sisters tee it up at British Open."