Nelly Korda has etched her name in the LPGA Tour record books, winning her record-tying fifth consecutive tournament with a two-stroke victory at the Chevron Championship for her second major title.
Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) as the only players to win five consecutive LPGA events. Her previous big win was in 2021 at the Women’s PGA Championship.
Top-ranked Korda shot a 3-under 69 in the final round to edge out Maja Stark of Sweden, who birdied her final two holes to shoot 69 and pull within one. Korda stayed aggressive on the par-5 18th, easily clearing the lake in front of the green and setting up an easy up-and-under birdie for a two-shot victory.
“It’s been an amazing feeling these last two weeks knowing that I can keep going and that if I stay in my bubble and keep golf simple and let it flow, then I can have a ton of fun here. ,” she said.
Korda had a four-day total of 13-under 275 at Carlton Woods.
His parents, former Australian Open tennis champion Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtova, smiled as they presented him with the trophy.
“He had a difficult 22 and 23 in some ways,” Petr Korda said.
“She didn’t win a tournament in ’23 and some things probably made her humble and (she) worked hard to get to where she is now. Without the work and commitment, she wouldn’t be here. Seeing that, I am very happy.”
Korda entered the final round one stroke off the lead after completing the final seven holes of the weather-delayed third round early Sunday morning (local time) on a windy and unseasonably cold day.
He birdied two of his first four holes to take the lead. Lauren Coughlin birdied the 13th and 14th holes to get within two shots, but bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes left her four behind. She shot a final-round 68 in a tie for third place with Canadian Brooke Henderson.
Korda nearly triumphed on the par-3 17th, with his tee shot hitting the hole and leaping into the air before settling to within 10 feet. He settled for par to maintain his two-stroke lead.
Korda wowed the large crowd, which followed her throughout the day, by taking advantage of the wind to birdie the par-4 10th hole to take a four-stroke lead. The 25-year-old lifted her club above her head with one hand and clenched her fist after the ball rolled toward the hole.
Haeran Ryu of South Korea shot a bogey-free 67 to enter the final round leading Korda by one. But the 2023 Rookie of the Year bogeyed the first two holes of the fourth round to lose the lead. She closed with a 74 and finished fifth.
Henderson was tied with Korda for second place entering the final round after she shot 64 in the third round to set a tournament scoring record since her move from Mission Hills, California, to Texas last year.
But the Canadian, who has 13 LPGA victories with two majors, also faltered at the beginning of the final round, with a bogey and a double bogey in the first four holes.
Korda took home $1.2 million ($1.8 million) from a $7.9 million purse, a significant increase from last year’s $5.2 million purse. That brings her season earnings to $2,424,216 and his career earnings to $11,361,489.
Winners had been jumping into Poppie’s Pond from the 18th green at Mission Hills since 1988, and Korda became the second to do so in Texas by jumping from a small dock into the brown-tinged water.
World number two Lilia Vu was the first to jump into the pond here after her victory last season. She withdrew from this year’s tournament before the first round after experiencing “severe discomfort” in her back during warm-ups.
Eighteen-year-old amateur Jasmine Koo provided an unexpected moment on the 18th hole. Her second shot bounced off the billboard in the water and she was back in the game. She finished with a birdie to shoot 71.
AP