Sports

Nelly Korda Wins Third Major Title in Chevron Championship Romp, Returns to World No. 1

By Max Schreiber Sports Illustrated

Nine strokes back after 54 holes, Gaby Lopez had essentially no chance of winning her maiden major championship at the Chevron Championship.

Still, she was in awe of who was on the cusp of securing the victory.

"Nelly [Korda] has proven so much quality of golf the last few weeks, since she started 2026," Lopez said after Round 3. "It's very inspiring."

Those trailing Korda on the leaderboard could only hope she would uncharacteristically crumble, even with a five-stroke lead.

That wouldn't happen, though. Korda claimed her third career major and second Chevron title with a five-stroke triumph over Ruoning Yin and Patty Tavatanakit, also reclaiming the top spot in the world rankings.

MORE: Final payouts from Chevron Championship

"That was a hard weekend," Korda said on the 18th green. "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."

Coming down the stretch, the biggest question wasn't whether Korda would squander her advantage, but whether she would set the tournament scoring record in the event's first year at Memorial Park in Houston.

Exiting the par-4 12th, Korda was agitated. She had three-putted for bogey, falling to 17 under. But maintaining the "screw-it" mentality she revealed earlier this week (using more colorful language), she bounced back with consecutive birdies on Nos. 13 and 14. That gave her five holes to surpass the 19-under benchmark.

The 27-year-old, however, would endure a few late stumbles. Leading by six, she dropped a shot on the par-4 17th, three-putting again. Then, on the last, she hit her drive in the left rough and her approach settled just beside the bunker, left of the hole. She chipped to about 15 feet but was still smiling before her par putt, which she'd make for the victory.

Korda played her final 30 holes at even par, yet still won comfortably.

"You're going to do it. You're going to make mistakes," Korda said she told herself down the stretch. "You have to mentally still be in it 100%, and that's really what I wanted show. I wanted to show it to myself and I wanted to show it everyone looking up to me."

Korda has been on a torrid pace this season. Entering this week, she won the season opener, which was shortened to 54 holes, and has finished runner-up in her ensuing three starts. This comes after a zero-win 2025, following a seven-win 2024.

Now, she's the first American to win three majors before age 28 since Amy Alcott in 1983 and is the first player to win a major wire-to-wire while leading by multiple shots after each round since Alcott in 1991, and the third in the last 50 years, according to statistician Justin Ray.

Of course, Alcott was the one who made the leap into Poppie's Pond a tradition, first doing it at Mission Hills in 1988, and Korda joined the list of players to make that plunge after her first Chevron win, two years ago. But few players have done it twice-and none at multiple courses, except Korda.

This year, the leap was into a makeshift swimming pool. Not that Korda cares; it means she won.

"My sister refers to our generation being Tiger [Woods's] kids," Korda said, "and seeing the amazing shots and how much it means to every person that has come before us to win a major and then how much that has inspired other generations to keep wanting to come out and grind."

Now, Korda's the source of inspiration, just like Lopez said.

More Golf from Sports Illustrated



This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nelly Korda Wins Third Major Title in Chevron Championship Romp, Returns to World No. 1.

Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 6:07 PM.

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