Nelly Korda is on a roll.
Starting the day two strokes off the lead, Korda sprinted to a bogey-free 7-under 65 on Sunday and then watched her 20-under 268 total hold up to win the LPGA’s Ford Championship at Seville Golf and Country Club in Gilbert, Arizona.
It was her third consecutive victory this year and solidified her world No. 1 ranking.
“I knew that I had to shoot a low one to be in contention,” Korda said. “I played really smart golf out there today.”
Korda earned $337,500 from the $2.25 million purse. She is the first LPGA player to win three consecutive starts since Ariya Jutanugarn in 2016.
On a weekend when the No. 1 players in the men’s and women’s games were competing with chances to win their respective third consecutive titles, Korda came through as PGA Tour counterpart Scottie Scheffler came up one stroke short at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
"It’s hard to be at 100 percent, especially after a win. To get three in a row, that’s just a dream come true."
Nelly Korda
Hira Naveed, a 26-year-old rookie from Australia who played college golf at Pepperdine, finished two strokes behind as runner-up at 18-under after a closing 66. She missed the cut in her only previous start this season, one week earlier at the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship.
American Lexi Thompson, seeking her first victory in five years, shared third place at 17-under with Swedes Frida Kinhult and Maya Stark, Spain’s Carlota Ciganda and South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee.
At only 25, Korda, a two-time major champion, posted her 11th career victory. She won the LPGA Drive On Championship in January in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida, and then claimed the Fir Hills Seri Pak title in California one week before the Ford event. She skipped the LPGA’s recent three-stop Asia Swing, giving her a seven-week break.
Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2004-05) share the record for most consecutive victories on the LPGA, with five. Next up for Korda will be the T-Mobile Match Play, which begins Wednesday at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas.
“This week, I was a little bit more relaxed. It’s hard to be at 100 percent, especially after a win. To get three in a row, that’s just a dream come true.”
Steve Harmon