Nelly Korda makes it five and Major number two

With the way that Nelly Korda has been so dominant in the women's professional game over the past month, you would be forgiven for thinking that she may have made her fifth consecutive victory look easy.

That's how the final round of The Chevron Championship started with birdies on three, four and eight whilst her playing partners Brooke Henderson and Hae Ran Ryu faltered. The pressure from Henderson and Ryu did not seem to materialise and when Korda chipped in on 10 and four shots clear, it felt like the fifth win was sealed.

But this is Major Sunday and although Korda may seem superhuman at times, the nerves started to set in and a few wayward swings came in. After a bogey on 11, the American then hit her ball into the water on 15 and scrambled to make a bogey.

The 25-year-old steadied herself for par on 16, letting out a huge sigh of relief and then went on to nearly have a hole-in-one on 17.

The final two and a half hours of the round seemed to drag due to the pace of play, which was not great to encourage the excitement that we have come to expect from the last day of a Major championship.

Watch the final round highlights from The Chevron Championship

A late challenge came from fellow American Lauren Coughlin, who led after the first round, shooting the round of the day with a 68. She finished in third at -10, her highest finish on the LPGA to date.

"I think I learned to just stay patient and take what the golf course gives you. I learned that I could just hang in there and be with the best in the world. It's pretty cool."

Maya Stark looked to spoil the party by nearly chipping in on the last to get to -12 and put pressure on Korda who was waiting to hit her approach shot into the green on 18. But it wasn't to be and the Swede had to settle for second place at -11.

Second Major title and fifth consecutive win for Korda

After just over six hours, it was finally time to see whether Korda could make history. She was safely to the back of the green and gave herself an eagle opportunity which just went by the hole. She didn't let the birdie putt phase her and drained it to get to -13 and win by two shots.

"I don't know, but I can finally breathe now," is how the five-time champion felt.

"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 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 red hot favourite this week, she didn't disappoint and now goes into the history books as only the third player on the LPGA Tour to have five consecutive wins and adds another Major championship to her 2021 KPMG Women's PGA.

With her victory Korda ties the record for most consecutive LPGA tour wins since 1978, joining Annika Sorenstam (2004 Mizuno Classic - 2005 Chevron Championship and Nancy Lopez (1978).

"In '21 I had an amazing year, got my first major at KPMG. Just a lot of doubt crept into my mind in 2022 and especially 2023. I heard some outside voices from other people saying that they don't know if I'll ever be able to win another major again, and I stuck to working extremely hard on and off the golf course, and I'm so thankful to have the team that I do. They've gone through all the highs and lows with me, especially Jason. I just can't be more thankful for the hard work that each one of them put into it."

The sky is the limit for Nelly Korda and we're still only in April. It'll be exciting to see what the rest of the season holds.

View the full Chevron Championship leaderboard here.