Korda Wins Chevron Championship for Fifth Straight LPGA Victory, Matching Record

Nelly Korda matched an LPGA Tour record on Sunday, capturing her fifth consecutive tournament victory with a two-stroke win at the Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas. The result also gave her a second major championship.

With the win, Korda joins Nancy Lopez, who accomplished the feat in 1978, and Annika Sorenstam, who did so across 2004 and 2005, as the only players to win five straight LPGA events. Korda's earlier major title came at the Women's PGA Championship in 2021.

The world's top-ranked player finished with a three-under 69 in the final round and a four-day total of 13-under 275 at Carlton Woods. Maja Stark of Sweden birdied her last two holes for a 69 and pulled within one stroke at one stage, but Korda stayed aggressive on the par-five 18th. She cleared the lake fronting the green with ease and made an uncomplicated up-and-down for birdie to secure the two-shot margin.

Korda began the final round one shot off the lead after finishing the last seven holes of a weather-delayed third round early Sunday morning, in windy and unseasonably cool conditions. She birdied two of her first four holes to move in front. On the par-three 17th, her tee shot struck the hole and bounced into the air before stopping within 10 feet; she made par to preserve her two-shot cushion.

The large gallery that trailed her all day saw the 25-year-old chip into the wind for a birdie on the par-four 10th, stretching her lead to four strokes. She raised her club overhead with one hand and pumped her fist as the ball rolled in.

Lauren Coughlin made birdies on the 13th and 14th to get within two strokes, but bogeys on the 16th and 17th left her four back. Her closing 68 put her in a tie for third with Canada's Brooke Henderson. Henderson, who has 13 LPGA wins including two majors, had shot a 64 in the third round to set a tournament scoring record since the event moved from Mission Hills to Texas last year. She stumbled early on Sunday, however, with a bogey and a double bogey in the first four holes.

Haeran Ryu of South Korea, the 2023 Rookie of the Year, led Korda by one after a bogey-free 67 in the third round. She bogeyed the first two holes of the final round, dropped out of the lead, and closed with a 74 to finish fifth.

Korda earned $1.2 million from a $7.9 million purse, up sharply from $5.2 million last year. Her season earnings now stand at $2,424,216 and her career total at $11,361,489.

She also continued a tradition of winners leaping into Poppie's Pond beside the 18th green, a custom at Mission Hills since 1988. Korda became the second player to do so in Texas, jumping from a small dock into brown-tinged water. World No. 2 Lilia Vu, last year's champion and the first to take the plunge at the new venue, withdrew before the first round this year after experiencing "severe discomfort" in her back during warmups.

Eighteen-year-old amateur Jasmine Koo supplied an unexpected highlight at the 18th, where her second shot hit the advertising board in the water and bounced back into play. She went on to make birdie and shot a 71.