Nelly Korda goes wire-to-wire to win the LPGA’s first major of 2026: The Chevron Championship. She defeated Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit and China’s Ruoning Yin by five strokes to win her third major title.
It was a dominant display by Nelly Korda this weekend, shooting two rounds of 65 (-7) on Thursday and Friday to jump to a six-shot lead entering the weekend. After a third round of 70 (-2), she entered Sunday with a five-shot lead. Korda’s lead was too much to overcome, and after two birdies on the front nine, she coasted to her second win of the season and 17th career win.
Korda credited her support system for her performance this weekend.
“That was a hard weekend. Honestly, having that big of a lead, it’s not easy. It was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve had to do mentally. But I have an amazing support system, amazing family right behind me, amazing caddie that’s on the bag, and just happy to get it done,” she said.
Korda has had a stellar start to the season with five consecutive finishes of T-2 or better. She joins Karrie Webb (2000) and Annika Sorenstam (2001) to start an LPGA season with five consecutive T-2 or better finishes. She will also overtake Jeeno Thitikul in the Rolex Rankings as the world number one golfer.
After winning seven times in 2024 (including The Chevron Championship), Korda did not win any events last year. After finishing runner-up three times this season, Korda focused on herself.
“I’m just more process-oriented where I want to do the work, and I want to continue grinding on my game, and I want other players to test me. When I finished second to Hyo Joo twice and second to Lauren, that fuels me. I like that. I like the back-and-forth competition. I want them to motivate me. I want to motivate them. That’s what brings the best out of everyone,” she said.
Tavatanakit finished tied with R. Yin for second place this week. This is Tavatanakit’s highest finish this season. She mentioned how difficult the round was on Sunday.
“To be honest, I feel like I didn’t have my A-game at all, but I just managed myself really well. Just kept grinding out there. Made really nice up-and-downs all week, which is great. At the same time, I really wish I had my iron game a little bit better,” she said.
With her win, Korda earned $1,350,000 in prize money and 650 points in the season-long competition, Race to CME Globe. She extended her lead to 582 points over Hyo Joo Kim as the leader in the competition.
The LPGA Tour continues next week at the second annual Mexico Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba. The tournament will be held in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, at El Camaleon Golf Course at Mayakoba. Japan’s Chizzy Iwai will look to defend her title.
