Nelly Korda wins third straight LGPA title, claims Ford Championship in Arizona
By Sam Joseph, CNN
(CNN) — Recently crowned women’s golf world No. 1 Nelly Korda won her 11th career title on Sunday and claimed her third LPGA victory in a row, winning the Ford Championship at Seville Golf and Country Club.
The 25-year-old navigated miserable conditions in Gilbert, Arizona, to hit a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 and win by two shots over Australian rookie Hira Naveed.
Despite starting the day two shots off the lead, Korda expressed afterwards that she felt it was a comfortable victory.
“I think it was definitely one of my least stressful wins today. I played really solid golf,” she said. “I didn’t make too many mistakes, and if I did, I just had a straightforward chip. Overall, I capitalized on the majority of my really good shots out there today and made some good putts as well. I’m very, very pleased with how I played today in the tough conditions.”
Korda won the LPGA Drive On Championship in January before taking a seven-week break. She made a winning return at the Seri Pak Championship in California on March 24 before taking before taking victory at this past weekend’s inaugural edition of the Ford Championship.
With the win, Korda became the first woman to win three consecutive starts since 2016, and the first American to achieve the feat since Nancy Lopez won five straight events in 1978, per the Tour. Additionally, she is the first player to take home three LPGA Tour titles before April 1 since Yani Tseng did so 12 years ago and the first American to accomplish this since JoAnne Carner in 1980.
“I’m just really enjoying myself out there,” Korda said about her incredible recent form.
“I love golf. I’ve always loved golf. Sometimes, it’s harder than other days.
Last year was definitely one of the harder years. I never really got any momentum going with injuries and such. The past two years in all honesty.
“I would say the reset that I had after [the LPGA Drive On Championship] really, really helped me. I really enjoyed my time off. Spent a lot of time with my family. Went back to Prague. I enjoyed life outside of golf a little. Just disconnected. To me, that was the perfect reset going into this busy schedule.”
Korda ended her day with two birdies in her final three holes to seal the win. Despite her dominance, she was pushed to the end by Naveed, who was making only her third LGPA Tour start.
“There is great golf out there, great players out there, so I was just trying to do my best and score as best as I can,” Naveed told the media, per the Tour. “(Nelly is) an amazing player. To share the stage with her is really an honor. Yeah, it was a great day. Just fell short, but, again, it’s an experience, so we move on.”
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