Golf

Nelly Korda secures fifth straight victory with success at Chevron Championship

Scottie Scheffler five shots clear with three holes to play at RBC Heritage as he looks to make it four wins in five

Nelly Korda jumps into the water after winning the Chevron Championship at Woodlands, Texas. Photograph: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Mon Apr 22 2024 - 11:37

American Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship by two shots in Texas on Sunday night to secure her second Major title and a remarkable fifth straight tournament win.

The 25-year-old’s victory at The Woodlands saw her tie the record for most consecutive LPGA wins, with Nancy Lopez in 1978 and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) the only other women to achieve the feat.

Korda, who began the final round of this year’s first Major one stroke behind South Korean leader Haeran Ryu alongside Canada’s Brooke Henderson, carded a final round 69 in Houston to finish on 13 under for the tournament.

Sweden’s Maja Stark finished two shots further back in second after a closing round of 69 and American Lauren Coughlin and Henderson were tied in third place on 10 under, while Ryu carded a two-over-par 74 to finish fifth.

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Northern Ireland’s Stephanie Meadow finished in a tie for 30th position after closing with a level-par 72 to finish the tournament on level.

When asked how she was able to put together five wins in five consecutive tournaments, Korda, who made five birdies and two bogeys on the final round, said: “I don’t know, but I can finally breathe now.

“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 I’m happy to get the win.

“I was definitely starting to feel it on the back nine, just the nerves setting in. It’s a Major. It’s everything that I’ve always wanted as a little girl, to lift that Major trophy.

“As I said, I can finally breathe now and just enjoy the moment because I was definitely really nervous. I feel sick to my stomach.”

The world number one is the daughter of former Czech tennis player Petr Korda, who won the Australian Open men’s singles title in 1988.

Her first Major win came at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2021 and she secured her first title of the year, the LPGA Drive On Championship, in January.

She then took a seven-week break and returned to win three events in the space of three weeks, including beating Ireland’s Leona Maguire in the final of the T-Mobile Match Play.

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler has a five-stroke lead with just three holes to play after rain halted play in the RBC Heritage on Sunday.

The Masters champion and world number one continued his great form at Hilton Head in South Carolina on the fourth day of the tournament, hitting an eagle and two birdies across 15 holes.

A storm stopped play for two and a half hours with darkness forcing a finish on Monday, with play set to start at 1pm Irish time.

Fellow American Wyndham Clark had a strong day through his 18 holes, moving into second place with eight birdies and an eagle, but two bogeys and a double bogey stopped him from further encroaching on Scheffler’s lead.

Clark is tied with American’s Patrick Cantlay and JT Poston, who have one hole left to play and Sahith Theegala, who has three holes left to play.

Scheffler is looking for his fourth win in five starts.

Waterford’s Séamus Power got his drive away on the 18th before play was called for the day. He will return to the course looking for a closing birdie to shoot a level-par final round and a top 15 finish.

Rory McIlroy ended his tournament with a disappointing three-over 74 to finish on seven under, while Shane Lowry’s 75 left him on one over and among the back markers in the no-cut event.

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