When Nelly Korda won a thrilling playoff against Lydia Ko at the Drive On Championship at the end of January, no one could have predicted that it would begin a stunning run of victories that is still to be broken as we head towards late April.
Since then, the American has also won the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, the Ford Championship, the T-Mobile Match Play and, most impressively, her second Major title at the Chevron Championship, becoming only the third player in LPGA Tour history to win five events in a row.
Korda’s two-shot win over Maja Stark at The Club at Carlton Woods drew her level with Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam for number of successive LPGA Tour wins, and it would be a brave person to put it past her making that six in succession at this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship.
Not surprisingly, Korda is also confident of continuing her remarkable run at Wilshire Country Club. After claiming her first Major title since the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Korda confirmed she would play this week, before admitting that she one in on a place in the history books.
“Yeah, I'm going to enjoy this right now and then I'll think about that,” she began. “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’s remarkable run has come two years after she was diagnosed with a worrying blood clot in her arm which kept out for four months.
She admitted that, during that period, the idea of going on such a run had been unthinkable. She said: “Back then, no, because obviously then I was just more scared for my health. Competing was kind of on the backseat. I was not thinking about competing at all.”
However, she believes that, rather than hindering her progress, her current form can in part be attributed to her previous health issues. “I think all of the sad times and the health scares that I have gone through have made me who I am today,” she explained. “I think it has matured me a lot, and I would say it's shaped me into the person I am today, and I'm very grateful for the ups and downs.”
Before her latest win, Korda had talked about the growth of the women’s game in general, and said: “Women's sports just needs a stage. If we have a stage we can show up and perform and show people what we're all about.”
Whether or not Korda’s run enters uncharted territory this week, she reiterated that point, and said she is hopeful her incredible form can help further elevate women’s golf.
She explained: “Yeah, my answer is going to be the same. It's a stage. We need a stage. We need to be on primetime TV, and we need to showcase the talent we have out here, which is a lot. Hopefully we have - a bunch of people came out this week. The crowds were amazing. That's just what we need.”
