Korda wins fifth straight event, second major title at Chevron

WOODLANDS, Texas: World No. 1 Nelly Korda fired a final-round 69 to win her LPGA record-tying fifth straight event -- and second major title -- at the Chevron Championship on Sunday in The Woodlands, Texas.

Korda, 25, who finished with a 13-under 275 and defeated Sweden’s Maia Stark by two strokes, had to play 25 holes on the final day to make up for a weather delay Saturday, but still captured her 13th LPGA Tour event win.

Korda, who won her first major in 2021 at the Women’s PGA Championship, joined Hall of Famers Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) and Nancy Lopez (1978) as the only players in LPGA Tour history to win five straight starts. Korda also earned $1.2 million 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 Saturday due to weather but wrapped up her third round by making par to keep her at 10-under for the week.

After making three birdies on her front nine, Korda led Canada’s Brooke Henderson and South Korea’s Hae Ran Ryu by three shots. Korda upped the lead to four with a chip-in on 10th. Despite two bogeys, Korda managed to hold on, sinking a birdie on 18 to seal the win after nearly acing the par-3 17th.

“I think there’s a key in the simplicity that I have when I play,” Korda said. “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. 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 11 under with a birdie on the final hole, one ahead of Lauren Coughlin (68) and Henderson (72). Ryu shot a final-round 74 to finish fifth at 9 under. “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.”