Nelly Korda of the United States captured the Chevron Championship, the first major tournament of the LPGA Tour season, with a total purse of $9 million. With the victory, world No. 2 Korda will also return to the world No. 1 spot.
Korda shot a 2-under 70 with four birdies and two bogeys in the final fourth round held Sunday at Memorial Park Golf Course (par 72) in Houston, Texas. Finishing with a total of 18-under 270, Korda comfortably beat Yin Ruoning of China and Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, who tied for second, by five strokes.
It was a wire-to-wire victory, as Korda never relinquished the lead from day one. It marks her second win of the season and 17th career title. The win is her third major championship. The prize money was $1.35 million (about 2 billion won). Korda will also return to world No. 1, overtaking Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand.
Starting the day with a five-stroke solo lead, Korda climbed to the top without major trouble. She picked up birdies on the first and third holes (both par 5s) to shave two strokes off on the front nine. After making a bogey on the 12th hole (par 4), she immediately responded with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes. She lost a stroke on the 17th hole (par 4), but it had no bearing on the outcome.
Yoon Ina shot 4-under to finish tied for fourth at 12-under. It was her second consecutive top-five finish, following a solo fourth-place result at last week's LA Championship. Yoon rode momentum on the front nine, carding four birdies. However, three straight bogeys on the 11th through 13th holes on the back nine were a setback. Still, Yoon picked up three more birdies on the remaining holes to finish tied for fourth.
Kim Hyo-joo, who has two wins this season, closed out the tournament at 7-under for solo sixth place.
