Nelly Korda made history on Sunday by securing her fifth straight tournament win at the Chevron Championship, marking her second major victory.
Korda joins an elite group of players including Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam as the only ones to achieve five consecutive LPGA event wins. She previously won a major title at the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021.
The top-ranked Korda finished with a 3-under 69 in the final round, fending off Maja Stark of Sweden who birdied her last two holes to get within one shot. Korda maintained her lead by taking an aggressive approach on the par-5 18th hole.
Korda finished with a total score of 13-under 275 at Carlton Woods.
Korda started the last round trailing by one shot, finishing the last seven holes of the delayed third round in challenging weather conditions.
She gained the lead by birdying two of her first four holes. Despite Lauren Coughlin's efforts to close in on the lead, Korda's strong performance secured her victory.
Korda came close to a hole-in-one on the par-3 17th hole, settling for a par to maintain her lead.
Korda impressed the large crowd by making a challenging chip shot for birdie on the par-4 10th hole, increasing her lead to four strokes.
Haeran Ryu of South Korea, who initially led Korda by one, fell out of the lead in the final round and finished in fifth place.
Brooke Henderson, initially tied with Korda for second place, struggled early in the final round, resulting in a bogey and a double bogey in the first four holes.
Korda earned $1.2 million from a prize pool of $7.9 million, a significant increase from last year. Her season earnings now total $2,424,216, and her career earnings amount to $11,361,489.
Since 1988, winners have celebrated by jumping into Poppie’s Pond at Mission Hills. Korda became the second person to do this in Texas, jumping into the pond after her win. Lilia Vu, the world No. 2, was the first to do so last season but withdrew from this year's tournament due to back discomfort during warmups.
A notable moment occurred on the 18th hole when eighteen-year-old amateur Jasmine Koo's second shot rebounded off the advertising board in the water and back into play, resulting in a birdie with a score of 71.
PGA TOUR
In South Carolina, Scottie Scheffler, the winner of the Masters, made a difficult pitch for eagle on his second hole on Sunday, and now the RBC Heritage will finish on Monday because of heavy rain that stopped play for 2 1/2 hours.
Scheffler is 20 under and has a five-shot lead with three holes left to play when the final round resumes at 8 a.m. Monday. He was about to win for the fourth time in five tournaments, with the exception of coming second in the Houston Open.
He was attempting to be the first player since Bernhard Langer in 1985 to win the week after putting on the Masters green jacket.
Wyndham Clark, the U.S. Open champion, made a strong start to the round, reaching 8 under through 11 holes, but then lost ground with a double bogey in the trees. He finished with a 6-under 65 and a total of 15-under 269.
Patrick Cantlay was tied for second at 15 under when he hit his approach to the collar of the 18th green. He decided to mark his ball and return on Monday to finish. J.T. Poston was also on the 18th hole and among the group at 15 under.
None had a chance of catching Scheffler unless the world’s No. 1 golfer made a series of mistakes in the morning, and that seemed unlikely.
PGA TOUR
In the Dominican Republic, Billy Horschel got his first PGA Tour victory that he really needed on Sunday in the Corales Puntacana Championship.
Horschel made four straight birdies on the front nine, pulled away with an eagle on the par-5 12th hole, and finished with a 9-under 63 for a two-shot victory over Wesley Bryan.
Horschel, who started the final round three shots behind, almost secured the win with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.
Bryan, trying to lead from start to finish, was only one shot behind late in the round. But right after Horschel made his final birdie, Bryan missed a par putt from just outside 2 feet and fell three behind. He birdied the 18th for a 68 and was the runner-up.
Horschel finished at 23-under 265 and won $720,000 for his eighth PGA Tour victory, and his first in nearly two years.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
In Texas, Paul Broadhurst finished with a 5-under 66, playing without any bogeys over the last nine holes to win by one shot over David Toms in the Invited Celebrity Classic for his sixth PGA Tour Champions title.
The tournament only had 36 holes due to heavy rain on Saturday.
Toms shot a 65.
Broadhurst, who finished at 11-under 131, had not won on the PGA Tour Champions since 2018, the year he won three times and his second senior major. The win moves the Englishman to No. 2 in the Charles Schwab Cup behind Steven Alker, who did not play.
Y.E. Yang (69) and Thomas Bjorn (70) tied for third, three shots behind. Bjorn was playing on a sponsor exemption.
KORN FERRY TOUR
In Florida, Tim Widing of Sweden won his first Korn Ferry Tour event when he finished with a 5-under 66 and won a three-man playoff with a par on the second extra hole in the Lecom Suncoast Classic.
Widing birdied the par-3 17th and finished with a par to get into a playoff with Patrick Cover (69) and Steven Fisk, who lost the lead with two bogeys only to birdie the 18th for a 68.
Cover was removed with bogey on the first extra hole at No. 18. Fisk made a bogey the second time around.
Miles Russell, the 15-year-old from Florida who became the youngest player in Korn Ferry Tour history to make the cut, shot a 66 to tie for 20th. The top 25 qualify for the next tournament.
OTHER TOURS
John Catlin secured his second consecutive win on the Asian Tour. He finished with a 5-under 66 on Saturday for a start-to-finish victory by seven shots over Wade Ormsby in the Saudi Open. The 33-year-old Californian now has two wins and a tie for third on the Asian Tour this year. Peter Uihlein, who came in third, had a 66-63 weekend and still lost ground to Catlin. … Garrick Porteous triumphed for the first time in seven years when he finished with a 7-under 63 for a one-shot victory over Alexander Levy in the Abu Dhabi Challenge. It was his second title on the Challenge Tour. … Chiara Tamburlini of Switzerland sealed a commanding Ladies European Tour win with a 3-under 70, seven shots ahead of Aunchisa Utama in the Joburg Ladies Open. … Matthew Anderson of Canada birdied his last two holes on the Rio Olympic course for a 2-under 69 and a one-shot victory in the Brazil Open on the PGA Tour Americas. … Rio Takeda clinched her second consecutive tournament win on the Japan LPGA, shooting a third consecutive round of 4-under 67 for a three-shot victory over Mitsuki Kobayashi in the Fujisankei Ladies Classic. … Eunwoo Choi finished with a 1-under 71 to successfully retain her title in the Nexen-SaintNine Masters on the Korea LPGA Tour.