Australia’s Hannah Inexperienced charged into the highest ten as world No.2 Nelly Korda sealed a commanding five-shot win within the last spherical of The Chevron Championship at Houston’s Memorial Park.
Korda is now a three-time main champion, and a two-time winner of this occasion, having additionally claimed the title in 2024.
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The 27-year-old American completed her wire-to-wire victory at 18-under par, having raced out of the blocks with back-to-back seven-under par rounds of 65 within the opening two rounds.
Korda then saved a protected distance from her rivals over the weekend with consecutive 70s to gather the US$1.35 million (A$1.89m) winner’s cheque forward of China’s Ruoning Yin and Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit.
“That was a tough weekend, actually,” she mentioned.
“Having that huge of lead, it’s not simple. It’s positively one of many hardest issues I’ve needed to do mentally.
“However I’ve an incredible help system, an incredible household proper behind me, an incredible caddie that’s on the bag and simply pleased to get it executed.”
Korda has bounced again strongly from a disappointing 2025.
She was winless final yr and misplaced the world No.1 rating to Jeeno Thitikul consequently after 71 consecutive weeks on the prime.
Korda has responded in emphatic trend, nonetheless, with this being her second win of the season.
She sits atop the LPGA’s season-long standings, with an unimaginable run of first, second, second, tied second and first in her 5 occasions to the beginning the yr.
She can be set to return to being the world No.1 when the rankings replace.
Submit-round, Korda had a powerful message about what was driving her to carry on to her buffer throughout the weekend.
“Truthfully, what I used to be telling myself was I actually need to hoist this trophy as a result of I need to present the youngsters at dwelling that it’s okay to overlook brief putts and nonetheless win a significant championship,” she mentioned.
“You’re gonna do it, you’re gonna make errors, however it’s important to mentally nonetheless be in it 100 per cent. That’s actually what I needed to point out.
“I needed to point out it myself and I needed to point out it to everybody wanting as much as me.”
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In the meantime, Inexperienced entered the primary ladies’s main of the yr as one of many favourites, having gained in Los Angeles final week and already claiming 4 victories to date this yr.
The Australian began slowly in Houston, however progressed up the leaderboard with each spherical.
She saved her finest for final with a four-under par 68 taking her to 6-under general, leaping up 22 locations right into a tie for seventh.
Inexperienced shot rounds of 73, 71, 70 and 69 and acknowledged that she had pieced collectively a constant week.
“I believe I did make one double within the first spherical and I felt like that type of put a bitter style in my spherical,” Inexperienced mentioned.
“I felt just like the spherical was really higher than that.
“Yeah, I felt like general nothing was too flash, however it positively might have clearly improved.
“Yeah, general I’m fairly pleased with this as my first main efficiency.”
The world No.5 maintained her place in third on the LPGA’s season lengthy standings, having picked up two victories on the premier ladies’s tour this yr to go together with her Australian Open and Australian WPGA Championship crown.
Inexperienced actually felt the added hype that comes with such a red-hot run of kind.
It was a special expertise for the 2019 Girls’s PGA Championship winner, having felt like she was the hunter slightly than the hunted prior to now.
However the 29-year-old is up for the problem as main season continues in June, together with a return to the place she grew to become a significant champion in her second yr on the LPGA.
“Yeah, I believe now that I assume I’m within the High 10 or High 5 on the earth I really feel like, yeah, extra eyeballs are on me, which has been one thing I haven’t needed to actually cope with,” Inexperienced mentioned.
“Quite a lot of occasions I’ve been in a position to fly underneath the radar or come from behind and have a win.
“So it’s type of completely different coming into the key with extra consideration on me. It’s positively one thing I’ve to study to get used to, as I hope I can proceed this run I’m on. “Yeah, provides a whole lot of stress, however I additionally need to carry out effectively in these occasions. It’s good to get off to begin. I’m actually excited to go to Riviera clearly being in
California, and in addition Hazeltine Nationwide, someplace near my coronary heart. I haven’t been there since I gained, so actually unusual and funky week to get there.”
Second yr LPGA skilled Cassie Porter was the subsequent better of the Australians, completed in a tie for thirty fourth.
Whereas Minjee Lee ended tied for forty ninth and Karis Davidson was tied 67th.
Robyn Choi, Gabi Ruffels, Grace Kim and Steph Kyriacou all missed the minimize.