American golfer Nelly Korda clinched a remarkable fifth victory in a row on Sunday, sealing her second major title with a win at the Chevron Championship and in the process levelling the LPGA Tour record for consecutive wins.
The world No.1 finished two shots clear of Sweden’s Maja Stark at Carlton Woods in Texas, a final round three-under 69 enough to top the leaderboard at 13-under overall.
Having begun the year on eight LPGA Tour wins, Korda has surged to 13 in a matter of months. The 25-year-old Floridian’s fifth successive triumph sees her join compatriot Nancy Lopez (1978) and Sweden’s Annika Sörenstam (2005) as the only LPGA players to build such a streak.
Set to tee up at the JM Eagle LA Championship in Los Angeles this week, she could stand alone with six in a row by Sunday. For the moment though, its time to celebrate – and breathe.
“It’s just been a crazy, crazy, crazy couple of weeks, with some really solid golf,” Korda, still damp from her leap into the lake beside the 18th hole, told reporters.
“I was definitely starting to feel it on the back nine, just the nerves setting in,” she added. “It’s everything that I’ve always wanted as a little girl, to lift that major trophy.
“I can finally breathe now and just enjoy the moment because I was definitely really nervous. I feel sick to my stomach.”
It was a hard-earned second major crown for Korda, who claimed her first at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021.
Saturday’s play had concluded early after storm delays, leaving the American to finish the last seven holes of her third round on Sunday.
Seven straight pars saw her begin the final round one shot behind South Korean leader Ryu Hae-ran, but Korda wasted little time making her move, birdieing four times through the first 10 holes to race ahead.
A bogey at the following hole marked her first since the 7th of Friday’s second round, an unblemished 39-hole run. Yet 24-year-old Stark was putting together a run of her own to apply pressure, never carding less than par across the last 26 holes and closing with back-to-back birdies to send Korda to the final tee with a slender one-shot cushion.
Any self-confessed nerves were hard to spot though, as Korda came close to converting for eagle from inside 30 feet before stroking home for birdie and $1.2 million in prize money.
Korda has already topped her most prolific season, a dominant 2021 that saw her tally four LPGA Tour wins. Yet the following year saw her playing appearances hampered, as surgery on a blood clot on her arm saw Korda – “scared for her health” – take a prolonged break from competitive action.
“I was not thinking about competing at all,” she admitted Sunday.
“But I think all of the sad times and the health scares that I have gone through have made me who I am today. I think it has matured me a lot, and I would say it’s shaped me into the person I am today, and I’m very grateful for the ups and downs.”