Nelly Korda claimed her third LPGA title of 2026 at the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba on Sunday, winning by four shots at El Camaleon to back up her Chevron Championship victory the previous week and move to 18 career titles.
Seven days after winning her third major at Memorial Park in Houston, Korda arrived in Playa del Carmen with a three-shot overnight lead and left four clear with a closing 3-under 69, finishing at 17-under 271 — a new 72-hole tournament scoring record at the event. It was the third time this season she converted a 54-hole lead or co-lead into a victory.The back-to-back is the first time a player has won the Chevron Championship and the following tournament since Lorena Ochoa in 2008, and the first time any player has won a major and the event after since Celine Boutier in 2023. Korda is also the first American to win the week after a major since Meg Mallon in 2004.”It was a perfect week after a major championship — super relaxing but I knew I needed to grind and I was here to work,” Korda said. “It’s like a slice of paradise. The resorts are unbelievable. The food is unbelievable.”
Eagle and back-to-back birdies kill the contest early
The tournament was effectively settled in three holes on the front nine. Korda holed out for eagle at the par-5 fifth, birdied the sixth from the fringe, and hit a lob wedge to four feet for another birdie at the par-5 seventh — a four-under burst that stretched her lead to seven. She was a combined 13-under on par fives across the week, made the most eagles in the field (three), and was the only player to shoot four rounds in the 60s.
She went 60 consecutive holes without a bogey before finding trouble off the tee at the last — her drive disappeared into the tropical bush and was never found, producing one of only two bogeys she made all week. “On the last hole, golf humbled me,” she said. “I had a pretty smooth day and then on the last hole it just kind of humbles you a little bit.”
Yubol posts best career finish
Thailand’s Aprichaya Yubol closed with a 2-under 70 for her best career finish on the LPGA Tour, ending the week at 13-under in second place. She was never in a position to threaten Korda once the front nine unfolded, but a double bogey at 16 ended any faint hopes, before three late birdies gave her round some gloss. “Finishing second is kind of a win for me, too,” she said. “It feels like that.”
China’s Yu Liu finished third at 12-under after back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18, while 36-year-old American Brianna Do — who co-held the 36-hole scoring record alongside Korda — took fourth at 10-under in her best-ever LPGA result. Colombian amateur Maria Jose Marin, fresh from her Augusta National Women’s Amateur title, birdied the last to finish fifth at 8-under.
By the numbers: closing in on the Hall of Fame
Korda’s 18th LPGA title makes her the first player to reach that mark since Lydia Ko at the 2022 BMW Ladies Championship, and the first American to do so since Cristie Kerr in 2015. She is now the youngest American with 18 titles since Nancy Lopez won her 18th in 1980. The win moves her to 23 points in the LPGA Hall of Fame standings — 27 are required for induction. In six starts in 2026, she has three wins and three runner-up finishes, with official season earnings already at $2.9 million.
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Picture Credit: Getty, LPGA
