Nelly Korda has made history at the Chevron Championship, winning her fifth straight event on the LPGA Tour!
Korda shot a final-round 3-under 69 to win the first major of the season by two over Maja Stark.
Korda is just the second person in LPGA Tour history to win five straight events in the same year, and the third overall. Annika Sorenstam won five events in a row spanning two different seasons in 2004-05 while Nancy Lopez was the first person to do it, all the way back in 1978, in a season when she won nine times.
“There’s a key to the simplicity when I play it. I take it a shot at a time, and we pick a game plan when we get to the golf course, and we get to work and we stay in our bubble and it’s been working so far. Maybe sometimes golf can get overcomplicated and it’s just a key to the simplicity to it,” Korda said.
The last American player to win five times in the same year on the LPGA Tour was Juli Inkster in 1999. Korda has matched that total with seven months left in the season.
Korda was one-shot back of reigning LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year Hae Ran Ryu through 54 holes in Houston after finishing the third round Sunday morning.
She quickly made her presence known on the top of the leaderboard after making back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 before adding another circle on her scorecard on the par-5 8th.
Korda added another birdie on No. 10 before a few late stumbles, bogeying No. 11 and No. 15.
“On 11, I was definitely feeling on the back nine. The nerves setting in. It’s a major. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted as a little girl to lift a major trophy. I can finally breath and enjoy the moment,” Korda said.
Despite a late charge from Lauren Coughlin – she shot the round of the day Sunday, a 4-under 68 – and Stark, who shot a 3-under 69, Korda nearly aced the par-3 17th (her tee shot rolled about 15 feet and clanged off the flagstick) before flying her approach on the par-5 No. 18 over the water.
Once she was dry, Korda two-putted for a closing birdie and history was made.
“That back nine felt like the longest back nine of my entire life. It felt like such a grind on the back nine but really happy to get the win,” Korda said.
Playing with Korda was Golf Town Athlete Brooke Henderson, who finished tied for third with Coughlin at 10 under. Brooke finished up her third round on Sunday morning, shooting an 8-under 64 – a new tournament course record at The Club at Carlton Woods and tying her lowest-ever round at a major championship.
“It’s great to be contending and in the final group. It’s so much fun. The crowds were amazing all week, and just to kind of be in it and to feel that kind of adrenaline and excitement is really awesome. So hopefully I can just, like I said, keep moving forward. My game is right there,” Brooke said.
“Would have liked to make a few more birdies, especially on the back nine, make (Korda) a little bit more nervous than she was, but overall, it was a great championship. Start of the week coming in saying I would have had a top 3, I definitely would have taken it.”
Brooke’s third-place finish was her eighth career top-five result at a major.
She had an up-and-down start to her day making bogey on No. 2 and a double bogey on No. 4 – but sandwiched between those squares were three birdies.
Brooke ended up birding her final hole of the day and shot an even-par 72 in the final round.
“Today was really interesting. Definitely not my best stuff, which is a little disappointing, but Nelly played amazing, and what she’s doing is pretty incredible. Congratulations to her, and I feel like I learned a lot this week,” Brooke said. “Definitely learning a lot, and I feel like my game is right there, so just got to keep going.”
Brooke is off next week before an extremely busy summertime stretch, while Korda will be going for six wins in a row at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro.