Back-to-back-to-back! Unlike her first two wins, Nelly Korda made her third of the season look much easier as she won the inaugural Ford Championship presented by KCC
In her third-straight LPGA Tour start, Nelly Korda secured her third-straight win of the season at the Ford Championship presented by KCC, becoming the first player to win three-consecutive times since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016 and the first American to do so since Nancy Lopez won five in a row in 1978.
Korda, who recently returned to World Number One for the sixth time in her career after her victory at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, stole the show with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 on Sunday to grab her 11th career Tour win.
“I think it was definitely one of my least stressful wins today. I just played really solid golf. Didn't make really too many mistakes, and if I did I just had a chip, kind of straightforward chip. Overall capitalized on the majority of my really good shots out there today and made some good putts as well,” said Korda, who won for the fifth time shooting all of her competitive rounds in the 60s.
Nelly Korda's final round
Korda began the final round two off the lead, and stayed patient through rainy and windy conditions to card three birdies in her first nine holes on five, six and nine. She carded two back-to-back on 12 and 13, with her fifth birdie separating her from a packed leaderboard to be the first to -18 on the day and alone at the top. From there, the American never looked back, and though a few players tied her in her final holes, no one ever pushed ahead.
Korda made a crucial up-and-down on 14 as the winds picked up, and after barely missing a birdie putt on 15 had an almost perfect approach on 16 to add another birdie on the card. On her closing hole, she carded one last birdie to make it 23 total in her week and her lowest fourth-round score since the 2021 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
“When I rolled that putt in on nine I was one back, and my caddie -- actually Jason told me I was one back. I didn't know. That's when we kind of dialed in a little bit more. Just made sure we went through the process of every shot,” said Korda. “Just played some really solid golf coming in it, too.”
Watch final round highlights from the Ford Championship presented by KCC
The closest to uprooting Korda’s dramatic and historic tale was LPGA Tour rookie Hira Naveed, making her second start of 2024 and her fourth-ever appearance in a Tour event. After making the cut on the number for her first made cut in her Tour career, Naveed played with nothing to lose on the weekend, shooting 65-66 to grab solo second at -18 by day’s end.
“It's an experience for me. It's only my second tournament of the year, so just try to enjoy it as best as I can,” said Naveed. “My caddie was trying to, you know, keep me calm all day, so, yeah, it's a great experience to compete against the best players in the world.”
A lot of positives for Lexi Thompson
Five players tied for third at -17, including 54-hole co-leader Carlota Ciganda and 11-time LPGA Tour champion Lexi Thompson. Ciganda got off to a slow start, making two bogeys to four birdies including two under-par holes that came on 16 and 17. Thompson on the other hand made her presence felt from the jump, with four birdies in her first seven holes to reach -17. After her fifth birdie on 14, Thompson made a costly shot into the water on the par-4 16th, and went bogey-birdie coming in to earn her best finish on Tour since her runner-up performance at the 2022 Pelican Women’s Championship.
“It feels great. I've been working on my game super hard, and results haven't really shown, so I'm going to continue to work hard because there is definitely a lot more improvement still to be improved on,” said Thompson. “But a lot of positives to take from this week, especially going into a major. But I have two weeks and I know what I need to work on.”
Four Americans and major champion Hyo Joo Kim finished in a tie for eighth at -16, including Lauren Coughlin, whose final-round 64 tied her career-low 18-hole score. Alison Lee secured her second-straight top-10 finish on Tour with her tied eighth result, and Sarah Schmelzel earned her fourth-straight top-eight finish in her hometown.
Next is the T-Mobile Match Play presented by MGM Rewards at Shadow Creek Las Vegas.