‘Great for women’s golf': Legend Sörenstam applauds record-setting Nelly Korda for remarkable feat

Nelly Korda equals record of five victories in a row on the LPGA. – Instagram

World number one women’s golfer Nelly Korda matched an LPGA record with her fifth consecutive victory over the weekend, winning the Chevron Championship for her second major crown and 13th career tour title.

The two-stroke triumph over Sweden’s Maja Stark stretched Korda’s winning streak for the season to five titles in five starts to equal the LPGA record set by American Nancy Lopez in 1978 and matched the feat achieved by legendary Swede Annika Sorenstam in 2004-05.

The 25-year-old American fired a three-under-par 69 in the final round to finish on 13-under 275 after 72 holes at Carlton Woods in suburban Houston to claim the $1.2 million top prize in the first women’s major tournament of the season.

Stark was second on 277 after a closing 69 followed by American Lauren Coughlin and Canada’s Brooke Henderson sharing third on 278 and South Korean Ryu Hae-ran fifth on 279 after closing on 74.

“I’m going to enjoy this right now and then I’ll think about that,” Korda said. “But yeah, it’s been an amazing time. Hopefully, keep the streak alive. But I’ve been so grateful to compete week in and week out and get the five in a row, too.”

Sorenstam, speaking to Golf Channel later Sunday, commended Korda for the accomplishment.

“So proud of her to win five in a row and to make a major her fifth,” she said. “It’s great for women’s golf. I’m super happy for her. It’s hard to win once on tour, and then twice, so to do it five times is a really hard thing to do. I’m just so proud of her and happy for her.”

Asked what advice she’d give Korda as she chases a record sixth win in L.A., Sorenstam added, “(To) just keep going.

“It really doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. You just have to start over and keep going. … The hardest part isn’t so much physically, it’s mentally.”

Korda entered the last round one shot off the lead after completing the last seven holes of the weather-delayed third round early Sunday morning on a windy and unseasonably cool day.

She was wiped out after her big win because she’d been up since 4 a.m. to prepare for the end of the third round.

Korda, the daughter of former Czech tennis star and 1998 Australian Open winner Petr Korda, won her only prior major crown at the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship while also capturing a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

This year, Korda also won January’s Drive On Championship, last month’s Seri Pak and Ford championships and the LPGA Match Play earlier this month.