Nelly Korda’s Chevron Championship chase faced 2 exciting endings
HOUSTON – Nelly Korda has been free and easy all week. In all aspects of his shooting, the World No. 2 separated Memorial Park on his way to a six-shot lead at the 36-hole mark for the first major of the year.
Korda’s lead grew to eight on Saturday morning, and it looked like it would take a long time to clinch the Chevron Championship. But as is often the case in major tournaments, the heat rises — literally in Texas — and the pressure mounts as gravity takes hold. Korda made a smooth bogey on the par-5 eighth and then missed short putts on the 13th and 14th – one for birdie and one for par – which left him eating hot food as he went to the 15th.
World No. 2 peeled off his tee over the flag and smiled, but his longtime friend, Jason McDede, was already giving Korda the ear as they walked to the green.
“He was just telling me to stay in it,” Korda said after his round. “There’s still a lot of golf left for me to play.”
Korda changed his thinking after the winless 2025. He focuses on staying positive and believing that no matter where he finds himself, his game will win that day. That’s much easier to do at the beginning of the week when your lead is growing, and your game feels unstoppable. But when the big pressure of a championship really comes on the weekend, your lead shrinks and your putter fails, which requires mental strength. Korda said he felt his focus waver when he hit the key on the back nine, and he needed to readjust to not bleed into other parts of his game. His lead dropped from eight to six to five, and the putts that had been ticketed to the center of the cup all week were diving left and right as they approached the cup.
“I’m learning a lot about myself,” Korda said, noting that she wanted to continue giving herself the bird look even if she didn’t fall. “I was still trying my best, and at the end of the day, that’s all I can control. I want to try my best and do my best. There’s nothing I can be more frustrated about than that.”
Nelly Korda understands what Sunday means. Of all his world-beating talents, Korda has just two major titles to his name. An impressive number for someone who has been the top player in women’s golf for the past few years. Korda won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2021 and added the Chevron in 2024. But his last few big memories, when he had been in conflict, left him with only scars. She stumbled in the final round of the 2024 AIG Women’s Open to Lydia Ko, and was unable to run down Maja Stark at last year’s US Women’s Open.
You are still waiting for number 3.
“That’s why we’re doing it, right, so we can be in contention for the big championship on Sunday?” Korda said Saturday after shooting a third-round 2-under 70.
Sunday’s intensity is clear to Nelly Korda. He spent 41 holes splitting the course while building a large lead. That leaves him with only two possible outcomes.
Door No. 1 sees Nelly Korda laying down and sprinting to the finish line, announcing that, after a frustrating season, she’s back as a killer and the undisputed best player in the world. That will see her return to world No. 1 and take the lead heading into the US Women’s Open on the Riviera, which is Korda’s main focus above all else. Door No. 2 made Nelly Korda stumble on Sunday, watching a big lead evaporate in what would have been a wreck.
“I’m going to focus on myself, the type of work in my process, drive that, make sure I have tunnel vision, and not focus on outside noise,” Korda said of how he’ll approach Big Sunday.
The overlap between Korda Chevron’s week and Rory McIlroy’s Masters week has been remarkable. Both fan favorites and tour megastars set a 36-hole tournament record. McIlroy watched his disappearance on the 13th hole that Saturday at Augusta National. After that, he went to the area and hit the balls, trying to fix what was wrong with him. Korda said he didn’t watch a single one of McIlroy’s Masters, and how he allowed everyone to get back into it before Sunday’s victory. Although his lead didn’t crumble on Saturday like McIlroy did, Korda kept his press time short on Saturday and did the same as the two-time Masters champion. He immediately got into the habit of putting on the green and dropped three balls with McDede watching every stroke. He circled the cup, varying from five feet to eight feet to 10 feet and beyond. Every time he hit a putt, he looked back at McDede, who was bent over his stroke and contact, for feedback. A short discussion about his swing followed after a few long putts fell short. Then, Korda rolled a few more up the middle and called it a day.
“At the end of the day, it’s a clean slate,” Korda said Sunday. “I start the day at zero.”
But on the big Sundays of the tournament, zero is miles away from the goal – from happiness or heartbreak.
Nelly Korda dominates this week in Houston. On Sunday, he will either become a three-time major champion or leave with a major injury that will not be easy to overcome.
All or destruction.
