Korda wins second major, fifth LPGA title in row
HOUSTON: World No Nelly Korda fired a finalround 69 to win her LPGA recordtying fifth straight event — and second major title — at the Chevron Championship yesterday in The Woodlands, Texas.
Korda, 25, who finished with a 13under 275 and defeated Swede Maia Stark by two strokes, had to play 25 holes on the final day to make up for a weather delay on Sunday, but still captured her 13th LPGA Tour event win.
New Zealander Lydia Ko finished tied for 17th, 11 shots behind the winner.
Korda, who won her first major in 2021 at the Women’s PGA Championship, joined Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam (200405) and Nancy Lopez (1978) as the only players in LPGA Tour history to win five straight starts.
Korda also earned $US2 million ($NZ3.5m) for her latest victory.
‘‘I can finally breathe now,’’ Korda said.
‘‘That back nine felt like the longest back nine of my entire life. It was a little bit of a grind on the back nine, but happy to get the win.
‘‘It’s a major. It’s everything that I’ve always wanted as a little girl, to lift that major trophy.’’
Korda will compete next week at the JM Eagle LA Championship Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, and with a win, she would break the record she now shares with Sorenstam and Lopez.
Korda trailed by a shot when play was called off on Sunday due to weather but wrapped up her third round by making par to keep her at 10under for the week.
After making three birdies on her front nine, Korda led Canadian Brooke Henderson and South Korean Hae Ran Ryu by three shots. Korda upped the lead to four with a chipin on the 10th.
Despite two bogeys, Korda managed to hold on, sinking a birdie on 18 to seal the win after nearly acing the par3 17th.
‘‘I honestly just take it a shot at a time, and we pick a game plan when we get to the golf course and we work and we stay in our own little bubble,’’ Korda said. ‘‘It’s been working so far.
‘‘I feel like maybe sometimes golf can get overcomplicated, and it’s just — there’s a key to the simplicity of it.’’
Stark finished alone in second at 11under with a birdie on the final hole, one ahead of Lauren Coughlin (68) and Henderson
(72).
‘‘Definitely not my best stuff, which is a little disappointing, but Nelly played amazing, and what she’s doing is pretty incredible,’’ Henderson said.
‘‘Congratulations to her, and I feel like I learned a lot this week.’’