Coming off her major triumph last week at The Chevron Championship, Nelly Korda found victory again and for the third time this season at Mexico’s Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba.
The world No. 1 started the final round at El Camaleon with the overnight lead, three shots ahead of Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol. Yubol looked to make a charge with back-to-back birdies and pars throughout the front nine, making up for a bogey at the 2nd. But Korda seemed impossible to reach, after a 12-foot eagle at the 5th, then two consecutive birdies at the 6th and 7th. What followed was 10 straight pars until the last hole where she made a 20-foot putt for only her second bogey of the tournament. But the blunder hardly mattered as she ended on 17 under to secure a dominant four-shot victory.
“On the last hole here I was humbled by golf,” Korda said. “I had a pretty smooth day and on the last hole just kind of like humbles you a little bit. You put in the work. Everyone out here puts in the work. Sometimes it works out.”
“I’m just enjoying myself and I love the competition,” she added. “I love traveling to places like Mexico, all over the world. I’m just having fun.”
This latest victory marks her 18th LPGA Tour title, making the 27-year-old the youngest American since Nancy Lopez in 1980 to reach 18 wins and means she becomes the first player since Annika Sorenstam in 2001 to finish no worse than second through the first six events of a season.
With her victory at The Chevron Championship last week, Korda also becomes the first American since Meg Mallon in 2004 to win the week after a major — and only the 15th player ever since 1950 to do so.
“It’s such an honor to have my name amongst so many legends,” Korda said in her post-round interview. “I think one of my favorite days of the year has to be the Champions Dinner at Chevron, when all these legends come together and share their stories. To have my name among theirs is just a huge honor.”
Trailing Korda at 13 under, Yubol finished runner-up, while China’s Yu Liu was a shot further back at 12 under in third. America’s Brianna Do finished in 4th at 10 under and Colombia’s Maria Jose Marin rounded off the top 5 at 8 under.
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is the Mizuho Americas Open taking place between 7-10 May at West Caldwell, NJ in the U.S.