Nelly Korda makes most of Chevron, grinds out good finish after nearly missing the cut

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Nelly Korda was all smiles after the final round in the Chevron Championship, and it wasn’t because she’d made a joyful jump in the pond.

World No. 1 Korda—the defending champion here—grinded all week and shot a two-under 70 on Sunday with five birdies and three bogeys to finish two under in the LPGA’s first major of the year. It was good for a top-15 finish.

It was quite a turnaround. She shot a five-over 77 in Thursday’s first round at the Club at Carlton Woods, then bogeyed two of her first three holes Friday to move to seven over. She rallied from there, with one of the gutsiest rounds of her career, finishing with a four-under 68 with six birdies to make the cut with a shot to spare.

“I just had to dig deep. I had nothing to lose,” Korda said. “You have nothing to lose, you might as well fire at it.”

She continued her Lego affinity, making the Spider-Man’s Mask, and was gifted a new Lego flower from tournament organizers after the round.

This year, Korda’s gameplan is to play tournaments the week before a major, so she played the JM Eagle LA Championship in California last week. She flew to Texas early Monday and hosted the champion’s dinner that night. She played in the pro-am tournament on Tuesday. Wednesday was rained out for half the day and she had an early first-round tee time on Thursday.

She’d change some things looking back.

“It’s really tough with a 6 p.m. finishing time on the West Coast and then having to get to a major,” Korda said. “I just wish I maybe got 18 in. We got rained out on Wednesday. I was off early Thursday and wanted to prioritize my rest. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to roll with the punches and continue learning. I just played the pro-am front nine. I didn’t get to chip, putt, see how the greens were releasing since we have this new pro-am protocol where we can’t really chip and putt anymore. Not having that kind of sucked. At the end of the day, I did have the chance to play in the afternoon on Wednesday and I didn’t take it, so that’s on me.”

This next week, Korda will return to practice—spending a lot of time on the range—and will host her AJGA Nelly Invitational, of which Chevron sponsors, at Concession Golf Club in her hometown of Bradenton, Fla.

“[Chevron] has been so amazing and something that I dreamed of is having an elevated event that’s a little different from anything else,” Korda said. “I always say that the best experience I have is playing in major championships against the best players in the world. What an opportunity for these girls that stepped up and made it happen. Super grateful for them. At the end of the day, this is the next generation. I’m excited to see them play.”