HOUSTON (AFP) — Nelly Korda rolled to a five-stroke victory in the LPGA Chevron Championship on Sunday, capturing her third major title to assure her return to the world No. 1 ranking.
The 27-year-old American took a five-shot lead into the final round and carded a two-under par 70 to win the first women's major of the year with China's Yin Ruoning and Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit sharing second.
Korda completed an impressive wire-to-wire victory at Memorial Park in Houston, becoming the third player in the last 50 years to win a major championship after leading by multiple strokes after each round.
"Honestly, having that big of a lead, it's not easy," Korda said. "It was definitely one of the hardest things I've had to do mentally.”
"I'm, like, having to play defensive at some point but also not wanting to get too defensive because I want to play my own game. That's where I struggled this weekend."
Korda, whose 2024 Chevron triumph was her second major after a victory in the 2021 Women's PGA, had matched the tournament's 54-hole scoring record with a 16-under total and opened the final round with an up and down birdie at the par-five first.
She nabbed another birdie at the par-five third, where her long eagle attempt just missed.
Playing partners Patty and Yin tried to keep some pressure on, both posting three birdies on the front nine, but the American was still up by five at the turn.
A three-putt bogey at the 12th saw Korda's lead cut to four, but she answered with birdies at the 13th and 14th — bombing a drive at 13 and sticking her approach within three feet of the pin.
"Obviously having the two back-to-back birdies helped," she said. "The par-fives are easier for me to play like myself."
A bogey at 17 didn't even dent her lead as Yin made bogey as well.
Both of Korda's bogeys were three-putts, and she missed a couple of birdie chances as well.