Nelly Korda didn’t have her best stuff on Sunday in Jersey City, and that’s what made her sixth victory of the season all the more remarkable. Korda, 25, put her hand up to head during a post-round interview at the 2024 Mizuho Americas Open on Golf Channel and gave the mind-blown signal. Even she can’t wrap her head around this extraordinary stretch.
Perhaps this the start of a new streak.
“Oh, my gosh, six, I can’t even really gather myself right now with that,” said Korda, who has now won half of the LPGA’s 12 events in 2024. “The head-to-head that Hannah (Green) and I had pretty much all day. Wasn’t my best stuff out there today, but fought really hard on the back nine.”
What started out as a bunched leaderboard on Sunday became a two-horse race down the stretch at Liberty National between the only two players with multiple victories this season. Both of Australian Hannah Green’s victories, however, came without Korda in the field, and a tight battled ensued between the pair until the difficult 18th, when Green made a mess of it after a poor tee shot. They had tied every hole since the ninth prior to that point.
Nelly Korda just keeps winning 🏆
She wins her sixth title of the 2024 Tour season at Liberty National! pic.twitter.com/OLY7RYRYp1
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 19, 2024
Korda closed with a 1-under 71 on a sun-splashed day outside New York City to finish at 14 under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Green, who closed with a 70. A foursome of players finished in a share of third at 10 under, including last year’s runner-up Jennifer Kupcho.
“I mean, there is something special about the grind of not having your best stuff and then still mentally being able to pull it off,” said Korda, who described Sunday as her “C and D game.” She admitted to feeling sick to her stomach coming down the last hole with Greene.
Only four players in the history of the LPGA have won six or more titles before June 1:
- Louise Suggs (1953)
- Babe Zaharias (1951)
- Lorena Ochoa (2008)
- Nelly Korda (2024)
Korda is the first player since Inbee Park (2013) to record six wins in a single season. Her 14 career LPGA titles puts her ahead of Stacy Lewis, Betty Jameson and Rosie Jones in all-time wins by an American (13) since 1980.
While Lydia Ko needs only one more point to reach the 27 needed to qualify for the LPGA, Korda now needs 10 qualify. She has earned seven of her 17 points this season.
Korda earned $450,000 for the win. Earlier this season, she became the fastest player to reach $2 million in single-season earnings.
The LPGA now has a week off heading into the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Korda is excited to have time off to recharge her batteries. Her sister, Jessica, will drive up from south Florida on Monday with her son Greyson and Aunt Nelly is pumped for the visit.
As for the Women’s Open, well, it’s the one she wants the most. Her first appearance at the event in 2013 is what solidified the dream of competing on tour. While she has a couple of top-10 finishes, Korda has never contended at a Women’s Open.
“It’s tough,” she said. “There have definitely been some heartbreaking times where I just haven’t competed well in U.S. Women’s Open where I feel like I put a little bit more pressure on myself. Because I do love the event, and I feel like out of all the events, that’s like the event for me. … I just know there is never any good when you put more pressure on yourself. Just going to stay in my bubble that week and take it a shot at a time.”
She couldn’t make it look or sound more simple.
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