Nelly Korda returned to the mountaintop Sunday in Houston by going wire to wire for her second Chevron Championship title in three years and regaining the World No. 1 ranking in the process.
Korda shot a tidy 2-under-par 70 in the final round at Memorial Park Golf Course and won the season’s first major by a comfortable five-shot margin. She opened with consecutive 65s to take a six-shot advantage into the weekend before finishing the job at 18-under 270.
Ruoning Yin of China posted a 69 and Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit shot a 70 to settle for a tie for second at 13 under.
It is Korda’s third career major title (2021 Women’s PGA Championship, 2024 Chevron), tying her with contemporaries Lydia Ko of New Zealand, Minjee Lee of Australia, Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and In-gee Chun of South Korea as well as Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez.
Korda, 27, also wrestled back the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings from Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, who missed the cut in Houston. Korda had been No. 2 behind Thitikul since last August’s Women’s Open.
She also continued an indomitable start to the 2026 season: two victories and three second-place finishes in five starts.
Korda began the fourth round with a five-shot cushion and birdied the first and third holes, both par-5s, to reach 18 under for the tournament. From there it was all pars until a bogey at No. 12, which she chased with back-to-back birdies that removed any doubt.
China’s Yan Liu (67) and South Korea’s Ina Yoon (68) tied for fourth at 12 under. Hyo Joo Kim of South Korea, who has won two tournaments this season, finished a distant sixth place at 7 under following a 69 as only a select few golfers went double-digits under par at the first-time major championship venue.
