Nelly Korda didn’t have her best stuff on Sunday in Jersey City, but it was enough to notch her sixth victory in eight starts at the Mizuho Americas Open. Korda put her hand up to head during a post-round interview on Golf Channel and gave the mind-blown signal. Even she can’t wrap her head around this extraordinary stretch.
Perhaps this is the start of a new streak.
“Oh, my gosh, six, I can’t even really gather myself right now with that,” said Korda. “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 Sunday became a two-player race down the stretch between the only two players with multiple victories this season. Both of Australian Hannah Green’s victories came without Korda in the field, and a tight battled ensued between the pair until the 18th, when Green made a mess of the finishing hole.
Korda, who became the first American to win six or more times in a season since Beth Daniel won seven titles in 1990, closed with a 1-under 71 on a sun-splashed day at Liberty National 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.
Only four players in LPGA history have won six or more titles before June 1
- Louise Suggs (1953)
- Babe Zaharias (1951)
- Lorena Ochoa (2008)
- Nelly Korda (2024)
Earlier this year, Korda became the third player in LPGA history to win five consecutive starts, joining Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sornestam (2004-2005). She lost her bid to become the first to win six consecutive last week at the Cognizant Founders Cup, where she took a share of seventh.
One week later, she’s back in the winner’s circle.
“I knew Hannah and I were obviously playing in the same group and we were close,” said Korda. (Caddie Jason McDede) always reassures me that I need to take it a shot at a time, and I need to wake up a little.”