Nelly Korda Wins The Chevron Championship For The Fifth Time in a Row
Nelly Korda defeated Maja Stark by two strokes to win The Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, on Sunday, earning her fifth consecutive victory on the LPGA Tour.
Korda closed her third round on Sunday morning with a par on the final seven holes. This put her in a tie for second place with Brooke Henderson, one shot behind 54-hole leader Haeran Ryu, at 3-under 69.
Just a few hours later, Korda began her final round and birdied the opening two holes while her companions stumbled. She then led by two shots over 2024 LPGA Tour rookie Jin Hee after making back-to-back birdies on holes three and four. After making another birdie on the par-5 eighth hole, the 25-year-old pulled up to 13-under overall. He then parred the ninth hole to finish in 33 with a three-shot lead.
After making her first bogey of the round on hole 11, Korda dropped back to 13-under. This was the first shot back to the field since she bogeyed the 7th hole on Friday. Korda then scored another birdie on the par-4 10th hole to go to 14-under overall.
Lauren Coughlin, meantime, was moving up the leaderboard, closing the gap on Korda by two strokes after making birdies on holes 10 and 11. However, she made bogeys on 16 and 17, giving Korda some breathing room. With only a few holes remaining, Korda was ahead by four shots.
With three holes remaining at The Club at Carlton Woods, Korda led by two shots after Coughlin recovered from a bogey on the par-5 eighth hole to achieve a 10-under total. However, the 12-time LPGA Tour winner faltered once again with a bogey on the par-5 fifteenth hole.
Korda nearly aced the par-3 17th hole after parring the 16th, and she eventually two-putted for par to take a two-shot lead with just 18 holes remaining to win the Dinah Shore Trophy.
Stark, however, was not going to die quietly. The Swede shot birdie on the 17th hole and almost pitched in for an eagle on the par-5 18th hole, tapping in for a birdie to post at 11-under, one shot behind Korda with one hole remaining. He had been sitting at 9-under and had been out of the conversation for most of the back nine.
Not to be deterred, Korda piped her drive down the center of the fairway and placed her second shot on the back fringe, placing her within thirty feet of the eagle hole. With a four-day total of 13-under, she just missed her eagle attempt and made a nervy comebacker for birdie to win her second major championship and first since the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“It’s just been a crazy, crazy, crazy couple of weeks, with some really solid golf. I can finally breathe,” said a shivering Korda in her winning press conference, still damp from her leap into the lake by 18. “I was really nervous on that back nine. I really, really wanted this win. It feels amazing to get it.
“My first-ever major, competing in a major, was at the U.S. Women’s Open at Sebonack, and that was when I dreamt of winning major championships. To have two under my belt now is a dream come true.”
After winning her 13th career game, Korda became the 31st player from an American to win 13 or more times on the LPGA Tour. She also became the 52nd player to win two or more major titles. Additionally, Korda became the ninth player in LPGA Tour history to win at least The Chevron Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Next week, when Korda competes in the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, she will have the opportunity to surpass Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam, who are the only other players since 1978 to have won five straight titles.
But that’s a worry for tomorrow, Nelly. She will merely take a moment to herself, one that she has been waiting for a long time, and breathe deeply as her history is finally made.
“I’m going to enjoy this right now, and then I’ll think about that,” smiled Korda. “It’s been an amazing time. Hopefully, I’ll keep the streak alive. But I’ve been so grateful to compete week in and week out and get the five in a row.”
