Woah, Nelly.

That was quite an impressive performance by Nelly Korda (TaylorMade TP5x) in the Chevron Championship, scoring a five-shot victory, winning wire to wire and setting a LPGA majors record with a score of 14-under par after 36 holes.

With the win, she vaulted into first place in the world rankings ahead of Jeeno Thitikul (Callaway Chrome Tour X), who surprisingly didn’t make the cut and continued the distinction of the greatest active player not to win a major. More on that later.

When Korda started the season winning the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, some said she was lucky that it was abbreviated to 54 holes.

But what has happened since has punctuated her amazing return after going winless last year, following a season in which she won seven tournaments, including the Chevron Championship. She placed second in the Fortinet Founders Cup in her second start of 2026, second in the Ford Championship and T2 in the Aramco Championship.

It was for that reason she entered the Chevron as the betting favorite.

Injuries affected her performance last year, though she did have some good results, including a second in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and six top-five finishes. That would have been a good season for anybody, but not for Korda after her dominating season the year before.

So now she appears to be back in form, winning the Chevron Championship for the second time in three years.

The LPGA Tour is gaining in popularity, along with women’s sports in general. When she won the Chevron in 2024, the winner’s purse was $1.2 million. This year the overall purse was raised and she collected $1,350,000. Chevron bumped up the purse by $1 million. I think that was great, but somehow the winner’s share should be more.

So maybe something could be done to really make the majors more financially rewarding for women. Money won’t make the players try harder, but it just puts a little more oomph into the drama.

Korda’s victory did not have the same nail-biting finish as last year when five players battled it out in a playoff which was won by Mao Saigo (Bridgestone TOUR B XS). She finished T59 this year and was never a factor.

Korda purposely did not ask any of the PGA Tour players for any intel on the Memorial Park Golf Course, which was the site of the Chevron this year. She just wanted to figure it out for herself. Clearly it worked.

For many others, including Thitikul, who missed the cut by one stroke, it was a different outcome. Prominent players who failed to make it to the weekend included reigning U.S. Women’s Open winner A Lim Kim (Titleist Pro V1), former Chevron winners Jin Young Ko (Titleist Pro V1), Lydia Ko (Titleist Pro V1x+) and Lilia Vu (Titleist Pro V1x). Rose Zhang (Callaway Chrome Tour X), Andrea Lee (Callaway Chrome Soft X), Linn Grant (Titleist Pro V1) and Grace Kim (Srixon Z-Star Diamond) also missed out playing the final 36 holes.

Thitikul has dropped down to second in the world rankings. It will be interesting to see how she rebounds.

THIS AND THAT

• I didn’t watch much of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Frankly I find the format a gimmick. Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist Pro V1x) and his brother Alex (Titleist Pro V1x) went into it as the heavy favourites and won. While Matt is on a serious roll this year, Alex cashes in on the success and a two-year PGA Tour exemption.

• Rory McIlroy (TaylorMade TP5) has opted not to play in this week’s Cadillac Championship, preferring to stay fresh, though it’s a Signature Event.

• Jim Furyk (Callaway Chrome Soft) has been announced as the U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2027.