NELLY KORDA reinforced her status as the world’s top player with her third straight victory of the 2024 LPGA Tour, winning the Ford Championship presented by
KCC by two shots over Australian rookie Hira Naveed on Sunday.
Korda became the first player to win three consecutive times since Thailand’s Ariya
Jutanugarn in 2016, and the first American to do so since Nancy Lopez won five in a row in 1978. Having returned to the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 position after winning the preceding Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship, Korda carded rounds of 66, 68, 69 and 65 for a 20-under-par 268 total at Seville Golf and Country Club in Gilbert, Arizona.
“It was definitely one of my least stressful wins today. I just played really solid golf. Didn’t make too many mistakes and, if I did, I just had a chip, kind of straightforward chip. Overall capitalized on the majority of my good shots out there and made some good putts as well,” said Korda, who took her LPGA Tour title tally to 11.
Korda began the final round two shots off the lead and stayed patient in rainy and windy conditions to card three birdies over her first nine holes. Back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 took her to 18-under-par and the top spot. From there, the American never looked back and picked up two more shots at the 16th and 18th holes, taking her birdie tally for the week to 23.
“When I rolled that putt in on 9, I was one back. That’s when we kind of dialled in a little bit more. Just made sure we went through the process of every shot and just played some really solid golf coming in too,” said Korda, 25.
Making her fourth LPGA Tour appearance, Naveed had made the cut on the number to progress to the weekend for the first time in her career. Following a 65 on Saturday, she closed her campaign with a solid 66 to grab solo second spot on 18-under-par 270.
“It’s only my second tournament of the year, so just tried to enjoy it as best as I can. My caddie was trying to keep me calm all day, so it’s a great experience to compete against the best players in the world,” said Naveed, who finished 15th at last year’s Q-Series to earn LPGA Tour membership for this season.
Five players tied for third place on 17-under-par 271, including 54-hole co-leader Carlota Ciganda of Spain who closed with a round of 70. – LPGA Tour
