Nelly Korda was back to competition for the first time in nearly two months and didn’t miss a beat. She ran off five straight birdies on the back nine to stage another Sunday comeback, closing with a 3-under 67 to win The Annika for her seventh LPGA Tour title this year.

Korda had a rough start and said she didn’t have many happy thoughts when she made the turn at 2 over for the day, two shots behind Charley Hull. Starting with a birdie on No. 11, she made five in a row on her way to a three-shot victory.

The only big surprise was seeing her younger brother, Sebastian, who has been charting his own career in tennis that kept him from seeing his sister win until Sunday at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.

Korda, who earlier this year tied an LPGA record with five straight victories, became the first player to win seven times in a season since Yani Tseng in 2011. No other American had won seven times in a season since Beth Daniel in 1990.

Korda now has won four times this year when trailing going into the final round.

Hull, going for a wire-to-wire win, simply couldn’t keep up with Korda’s birdie blitz. Coming off her first win worldwide two weeks ago in Saudi Arabia, Hull closed with a 1-over 71 and tied for second with LPGA rookie Jin Hee Im (68) and Weiwei Zhang (70).

McIlroy is Europe’s best for a 6th time >> Rory McIlroy capped off a tumultuous year by winning the World Tour Championship at Dubaai and his sixth title as Europe’s No. 1 player. He birdied two of the last three holes for a 3-under 69 to win by two over Rasmus Hojgaard.

McIlroy hit wedge to within a foot on the 16th hole to break out of a tie with Hojgaard, then closed with a 6-foot birdie for his third title in the European tour’s season finale.

He won the Race to Dubai — previously known as the Order of Merit — for the sixth time in his career, leaving him two behind the record held by Colin Montgomerie and tying him with the late Seve Ballesteros.

Hojgaard, who rallied to stun McIlroy in the Irish Open in September, didn’t make a birdie over the final 11 holes and had to settle for a 71.

Antoine Rozner tied for third and was one of 10 players who earned PGA Tour cards next year.

Campos gets emotional win >> Rafael Campos felt like he was living a fairy tale Sunday when he went from being on the verge of losing his PGA Tour card to winning the Bermuda Championship, just six days after his wife gave birth to their first child in time to let him play.

Campos hit 2-iron to 2 feet for eagle on the par-5 seventh hole during a surge that carried him to a 3-under 68 for a three-shot victory, joining the late Chi Chi Rodriguez as the only players from Puerto Rico to win on the PGA Tour.

“I just can’t believe this is actually happening to me,” Campos said through the sobs when he was interviewed on the 18th green after tapping in for par.

The 36-year-old Campos has never played in a major. Now he’s going to the Masters. This was only his second full year on the PGA Tour. The win makes him exempt through 2026.

He won by three shots over Andrew Novak.

NHL

Necas scores twice as Hurricanes beat Blues >> Martin Necas had two goals and two assists as the Carolina Hurricanes beat the St. Louis Blues 4-1 at home.

Andrei Svechnikov and Eric Robinson also scored for the Hurricanes, who’ve won two straight following a 1-2 road trip. Robinson added two assists. Pyotr Kochetkov made 29 saves.

Tennis

Sinner beats Fritz to win ATP Finals >> Top-ranked Jannik Sinner added another big title to his tremendous year, beating U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 for the ATP Finals trophy before his home fans in Italy — and before a final verdict is reached in his doping case.

Sinner won his first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2024 and had already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking.

Sinner, however, has off-court issues after he tested positive in two separate drug tests in March. A decision to clear him of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September. A final ruling is expected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport early next year.

By sweeping all five of his matches en route to the trophy, Sinner earned $4.8 million — the largest winner’s prize on the men’s tour.

NWSL

Pride headed to championship game >> Barbra Banda scored the go-ahead goal and the Orlando Pride defeated the Kansas City Current 3-2 in Orlando, Fla., to advance to the NWSL championship game.

The Pride will face the Washington Spirit on Saturday for the league title at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City.