History is made. And she’s not done yet.
Nelly Korda joined Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam Sunday atop the LPGA record books with her fifth consecutive win and Korda did so in major fashion.
Korda closed with a 3-under 69 to finish 13 under and claim the 2024 Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the season, by two shots over a late-charging Maja Stark, who closed with a 69 to finish 11 under.
“That felt like the longest back nine of my entire life,” Korda told NBC Sports on the 18th green minutes after clinching the title. “It was a little bit of a grind on the back nine but happy to get the win. The nerves were setting in. It’s a major.”
“I can finally breathe now and just enjoy the moment,” she added, laughing a bit, then admitting, “I was definitely really nervous.”
Down one shot to start the rain-delayed final round at the Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, Korda birdied the third hole to take the solo lead at 11 under. She then birdied the par-5 fourth hole to reach 12 under and go up two on the field.
Brooke Henderson, tied with Korda after 54 holes a shot back of Haeran Ryu, double-bogeyed the par-5 fourth – after a par-bogey-birdie start – to fall back to 8 under. Ryu, meanwhile, opened with three bogeys on her first five holes before back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 and 9. And once they fell behind, there was no catching back up.
NELLY KORDA: Where her win streak ranks
Another birdie on No. 8 got Korda to 13 under, good for a three-shot lead before parring the ninth to go out in 33. On the 10th, Korda made it a four-shot lead after chipping in for birdie to get to 14 under.
On the par-3 17th, with her lead at two, Korda almost made an ace, her approach shot clanging off the flagstick.
OFF THE FLAGSTICK! 💥@NellyKorda nearly aces the 17th hole at the @Chevron_Golf! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Wr6OepdVpb
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 21, 2024
The field had to contend with weather after the third round on Saturday was suspended due to heavy rain and had to be finished on a chilly Sunday morning. It was not unlike two weeks ago in the Arizona desert, where chilly rain and wind impacted the final round of the Ford Championship, won by Korda for her third straight title, and second in two weeks.
Now, she has five straight wins, and even bigger, a second career major, to go along with her 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship title.
Korda is currently in the field next week at the JM Eagle LA Championship in Los Angeles. Korda’s third win this season came at the Seri Pak Fir Hills Championship, about an hour south of Wilshire Country Club, site of next week’s LPGA event.
Sorenstam won her five straight during a stretch that spanned the 2004-2005 seasons. Lopez in 1978 was the first to do it.
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