Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!
With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Nelly Korda, the top-ranked player in the world, has won again on the LPGA Tour, winning for the fifth consecutive time.
She triumphed by two at the Chevron Championship, her second career major win and one that will never be forgotten.
Only Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam have won five straight times on the LPGA Tour, with Lopez doing so in 1978 and Sorenstam matching that feat in 2005. Funny enough, Sorenstam’s fifth victory came at the Kraft Nabisco Championship, now known as the Chevron Championship for sponsorship reasons.
“I think there’s a key in the simplicity that I have when I play,” Korda said.
“I honestly just take it a shot at a time. We pick a game plan when we get to the golf course, and we work, staying in our own little bubble. It’s been working so far. I feel like maybe sometimes golf can get overcomplicated, but there’s a key to its simplicity.”
Korda began her day with seven holes left in her third round since inclement weather suspended play on Saturday. After 54 holes, she sat at 10-under for the championship, tied with Brooke Henderson. Both players entered the final round one stroke behind Haeran Ryu.
But Korda knows how to win like very few others.
She seized the solo lead for the first time on the 3rd hole, where she made her first birdie of the day. Another birdie followed at the par-3 4th, and suddenly, because others stumbled around her, Korda led by three.
Korda continued to waltz her way around the front nine, as another birdie at the 8th followed.
But nerves crept into Korda’s mind as she made bogies on the 11th and 15th holes. Her drive on 15 found the water to the left of the fairway, but she still managed to save a bogey and avoid further disaster.
“I was definitely starting to feel it on the back nine, just the nerves setting in,” Korda said.
“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.”
Korda somehow managed to settle herself by the time she arrived at the par-3 17th, where she almost holed it for an ace.
She missed the birdie putt on 17, but by then, Korda had all but won the championship. She proceeded to make birdie on the 18th, capping a marathon day with a final round of 3-under 69 to etch her name into the history books forever.
Like Scottie Scheffler on the PGA Tour, Korda has taken the golfing world by storm thanks to her superb play. But the entire sporting world should recognize this incredible accomplishment because this feat should leave every sports fan with their mouth agape in awe.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
