A week ago, Nelly Korda lifted her arms in triumph at the Chevron Championship, the year’s first major. She raised them high as the Houston sun set behind her and then brought them down emphatically, having just survived a mentally taxing weekend at Memorial Park.
Seven days later, Korda rolled in a bogey putt on the 18th hole at El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba and stretched her arms out briefly before dropping them and lightly punching the air to celebrate a four-shot win at the Riviera Maya Open, her third of the season and second in a row.
It was another romp for Korda, who now has six top-two finishes in a row to start the season. This one felt different but came with even more history for the best player on the planet.
With the win, she became the youngest American since Nancy Lopez in 1980 to reach 18 career victories. She became the first player to win in the start after winning a major since Celine Boutier won the 2023 Scottish Open after winning the Evian. Korda is the first American to achieve the feat since Meg Mallon in 2024. She has more wins this season (3) than players who have finished ahead of her this season (Hyo Joo Kim twice, Lauren Coughlin).
Korda didn’t have to play in Mexico. After romping at the Chevron to win her third major title, she could’ve cited physical fatigue and dropped out to go enjoy her latest marquee victory. But instead, the newly-minted World No. 1 chose to tee it up in Mexico and continue her dominant run. Why did she do it? Because Nelly Korda is chasing something unquantifiable.
“Whatever I set my heart to,” Korda said pre-tournament about her next goal. “I mean, I just love competing and I love being out here competing. I’m always striving to be better and to contend in every major, every tournament. Just because what I’ve accomplished, what’s funny with sports is that’s in the past. What you want to do is look to the future and look to improve and look to it contend in the bigger events. Even if you get beat, it doesn’t matter. That’s kind of what motivates me to continuously put myself in that position.”
For Korda, that manifested itself in a week that saw her go 60 holes without a bogey. On Sunday, Korda entered the final round with a three-shot lead and then delivered an early haymaker to the field when she went eagle-birdie-birdie at 5, 6 and 7 to stretch her lead to seven. From there, all that was left was a walk to another trophy and another step toward the LPGA Hall of Fame.
But golf has a way of getting the last laugh even when you’re at your best. For Korda, that moment came on her final hole of the week, the par-5 18th.
With music pumping and the Mexico crowd ready to celebrate another Nelly Korda win, Korda lost her tee shot right into the jungle. After a provisional, she hit her third into the fairway bunker and then flew her next shot over the green and into the patrons. Korda’s chip from the sandy area behind the green rolled past the pin and left her a lengthy bogey putt. Of course, Nelly Korda rolled that in and then had to laugh about her adventure to her latest trophy.
“You just never know,” Korda told Karen Stupples after the round. “It’s golf. Like on the last hole here, I was humbled by golf there. I had a pretty smooth day and on the last hole just kind of like humbles you a little bit.”
Korda now has 18 career LPGA wins and 23 of the 27 points needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. She’ll take next week off to rest and soak up the latest batch of brilliant golf. Then, she’ll head to Cincinnati for the Kroger Queen City Championship before turning her attention to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club.
But Nelly Korda isn’t looking far into the future. She knows her focus has to be on the next step. Because, as the 18th hole on Sunday showed her, you never know when the next obstacle might arrive.
“I’m just happy to be competing out here healthy, motivated,” Korda said on Sunday. “You know, I’m so happy on the golf course. I’m happy off the golf course. I just think that, yes, I am living my best life for sure. But golf also humbles you, so I know that I need to enjoy these moments.
“There have been so many times that legends have told me to smell the roses, so now I have a week off and I can officially smell the roses for a few days.”
