THE WOODLANDS, Texas — Nelly Korda couldn't have imagined the incredible run she has put together this season — certainly not while at home recovering from a blood clot that required surgery in 2022.
"Because obviously then I was just more scared for my health," the 25-year-old American said. "Competing was kind of on the back seat. I was not thinking about competing at all. But I think all of the sad times and the health scares that I have gone through have made me who I am today."
Fully healthy now, Korda is seemingly unstoppable. The No. 1 player in the Women's World Golf Rankings hasn't lost a tournament since January, and now she's a two-time major champion.
Korda etched her name in the LPGA Tour record books Sunday, winning her record-tying fifth straight start with a two-stroke victory in the Chevron Championship.
She joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) as the only players to win five consecutive LPGA events. Korda's previous major victory was at the 2021 Women's PGA Championship.
"It's been an amazing feeling these past couple weeks," she said, "knowing that I can go on this stretch and that if I stay in my bubble and I keep golf in a sense simple and let it flow, then I can have so, so much fun out here."
Korda closed with a 3-under-par 69 to outlast Sweden's Maja Stark, who birdied her final two holes to shoot a 69 and pull within one. Korda stayed aggressive on the par-5 18th, easily clearing the lake in front of the green and setting up an easy up-and-down birdie for a two-shot victory, totaling 13-under 275 in the 72-hole event at Carlton Woods.
Korda nearly aced the par-3 17th, with her tee shot hitting the hole and hopping in the air before settling within 10 feet. She settled for par to maintain her two-shot lead.
Korda wowed the large crowd, which followed her throughout the day, by chipping into the wind for a birdie on the par-4 10th hole to take a four-stroke lead. She raised her club above her head with one hand and pumped her fist after the ball rolled into the hole.
Her parents — former professional tennis players Petr Korda (the men's singles champion at the 1998 Australian Open) and Regina Rajchrtova — beamed as she was presented with the trophy.
"She had a difficult '22 and '23 in certain ways," Petr said. "She did not win a tournament in '23, and some things probably made her humble, and (she) put a lot of work into where she is right now. Without the work and commitment, she would not be here. So seeing that, I'm very happy."
Korda's older sister, Jessica, is a six-time LPGA winner who's taking a break from golf after giving birth to her first child.
Korda took home $1.2 million from a purse of $7.9 million, a significant increase from last year's purse of $5.2 million. That brings her season earnings to $2,424,216 and her career earnings to $11,361,489.
Winners had been jumping into Poppie's Pond off the 18th green at Mission Hills since 1988, and Korda became the second to do it in Texas by doing a cannonball off a small dock into brown-tinged water.
While still shivering from her plunge, Korda confirmed she'll be competing in the JM Eagle LA Championship that starts Thursday in Los Angeles. She was then asked about the possibility of becoming the first to ever win six straight LPGA tournaments.
"I'm going to enjoy this right now, and then I'll think about that," she said. "But yeah, it's been an amazing time. Hopefully keep the streak alive. But I've been so grateful to compete week in and week out and get the five in a row, too."
Korda entered the last round one shot off the lead after completing the last seven holes of the weather-delayed third round early Sunday morning on a windy and unseasonably cool day. She was wiped out after her big win because she'd been up since 4 a.m. to prepare for the end of the third round.
She birdied two of her first four holes in the final round to take the lead. Lauren Coughlin birdied Nos. 13 and 14 to get within two strokes, but bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes put her four behind. Coughlin closed with a 68 and shared third place with Brooke Henderson (72) at 10 under.
South Korea's Haeran Ryu shot a bogey-free 67 in the third round to grab the lead, but the 2023 rookie of the year bogeyed the first two holes of the final round, closed with a 74 and finished fifth at 9 under.
AP photo by Eric Gay / Nelly Korda hits a tee shot on the eighth hole during the final round of the Chevron Championship on Sunday.Scheffler must wait
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Turns out only the rain can stop Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.
The No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking holed a difficult pitch for eagle on his second hole Sunday to build some separation in the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage and looked so flawless that it was only a matter of time.
And then he ran out of time. A storm system with heavy rain stopped play for 2 1/2 hours, and Scheffler was only able to get through 15 holes when darkness suspended play and set up a Monday finish. He led by five shots with no one seriously challenging him.
"Everyone is trying to chase Scottie, and he's making it really tough because he keeps winning," 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark said after giving it his best effort.
Clark, who started the final round seven shots behind, opened birdie-eagle-birdie and at one point got to within one shot of Scheffler. He was 8 under through 11 holes until an adventure into the trees right of the 12th fairway led to a double bogey.
Clark already has finished runner-up to Scheffler twice in this amazing run, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship in consecutive weeks in March. He at least managed to finish his round at 6-under 65 and posted at 15-under 269.
Patrick Cantlay and J.T. Poston were at 15 under and were just off the 18th green. Sahith Theegala also was at 15 under and in the right rough on the 16th hole.
The final round was to resume at 8 a.m. with nine players yet to finish. Scheffler has three holes separating him from a fourth victory in a stretch of five starts, a level of dominance not seen on the PGA Tour since the prime of Tiger Woods.
The two Baylor School graduates in the field finished Sunday. Stephan Jaeger — whose Houston Open victory three weeks ago had Scheffler as the runner-up — closed with a 72 and was tied for 18th at 9 under. Harris English was another shot back after a 70 and tied for 28th.
Scheffler took note of what Korda was doing on the LPGA Tour with her five consecutive wins.
"I actually was checking the scores this afternoon when we were in the rain delay," he said. "I'm extremely happy for her and proud of her. That's some pretty special stuff. It's been a treat to watch."
AP photo by Chris Carlson / Scottie Scheffler reacts after missing a putt on the ninth hole at Harbour Town Golf Links during the final round of the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage on Sunday in Hilton Head Island, S.C.Much-needed win
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic — Billy Horschel went to the Dominican Republic for the first time in search of momentum and came away with a PGA Tour victory he sorely needed.
Horschel ran off four straight birdies on the front nine to get in the mix, began to pull away with an eagle on the par-5 12th hole, and closed with a 9-under 63 for a two-shot victory at 23-under 265 in the Corales Puntacana Championship, an opposite-field event.
"This game of golf is so fickle," Horschel said. "You can put a lot into it and not get everything you want out of it. I knew ... I had the ability, I had the talent. I had to continue to believe the good stuff was going to come to the forefront."
Horschel, who started the final round three shots behind, all but sealed it with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.
Wesley Bryan, trying to go wire to wire, had made four birdies with no bogeys on Sunday and was still only one shot behind late in the round. But right after Horschel made his final birdie, Bryan missed a par putt from just outside two feet and fell three behind.
Bryan birdied the 18th for a 68 and was the runner-up, which will get him into the AT&T Byron Nelson in two weeks. He was playing on a sponsor exemption. Kevin Tway shot a 69 and finished third.
Horschel won for the eighth time on the PGA Tour but the first time in nearly two years. This victory gets him into the PGA Championship next month, and he likely will be in the next $20 million signature event, the Wells Fargo Championship.
AP file photo by Chuck Burton / Billy Horschel won the PGA Tour's Corales Puntacana Championship on Sunday in the Dominican Republic.Short but sweet
RVING, Texas — Paul Broadhurst closed with a 5-under 66, playing bogey-free over the final nine holes to hang on for a one-shot victory over David Toms (65) in the PGA Tour Champions' Invited Celebrity Classic.
It's the sixth victory on the senior circuit for the 58-year-old from England.
The tournament was reduced to 36 holes because of heavy rain that washed out Saturday.
Broadhurst, who finished at 11-under 131, had not won on the PGA Tour Champions since 2018, the year he won three times, including his second senior major championship. The victory moves him to No. 2 in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup standings behind Steven Alker, who did not play.
Y.E. Yang (69) and Thomas Bjorn (70) tied for third, three shots behind.