PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Nelly Korda delivered an early knockout punch Sunday and stretched her lead to as many as seven shots before cruising to the finish line with a 3-under 69 and a four-shot victory in the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba for her third win of the young season.
One week after Korda crushed the field at The Chevron Championship for her third career major, she left everyone feeling hopeless at El Camaleon with precision that carried the No. 1 player in women’s golf to another dominant victory.
Korda went 60 consecutive holes without a bogey, a streak that ended when it no longer mattered.
She had a six-shot lead playing the 18th when she sent her drive to the right and deep into the tropical bushes, never finding the golf ball. She hit a provisional into a bunker, the next one into the gallery and finished by making a 20-foot putt for bogey, only her second of the tournament.
Korda stretched out her arm and casually threw her right fist with whatever energy she had left.
She finished at 17-under 271, four shots ahead Arpichaya Yubol of Thailand, who celebrated her 24th birthday with a 70 to finish alone in second. Yu Liu of China (69) was another shot back.
None had much of a chance against Korda, who became the first player since Annika Sorenstam in 2001 to start a season with nothing worse than a runner-up finish through six events.
Korda started with a three-shot lead, and then it was over. She holed a 12-foot eagle putt from the collar of the par-5 fifth hole, followed with a 10-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 6 and then hit a lob wedge to 4 feet for birdie on the par-5 seventh.
She didn’t need to do anything more the rest of the way, following with 10 straight pars until taking her hands off the wheel on the final hole.
Asked if she was playing the best golf of her career, Korda demurred.
“I’m just enjoying myself and I love the competition. I love traveling to places like Mexico, all over the world. I’m just having fun,” she said.
Starting times were moved up to avoid thunderstorms moving along the coast of Mexico that looks out across the Caribbean Sea. It was still steamy, and Korda doused her head with a bottle of water as she walked off the 16th tee. Nothing could cool her off.
Korda could only laugh at her blunder on the final hole that kept her from matching or surpassing her largest margin of victory, set last week with her five-shot win in Houston at a major.
“On the last hole here I was humbled by golf,” she said. “I had a pretty smooth day and on the last hole just kind of like humbles you a little bit. You put in the work. Everyone out here puts in the work. Sometimes it works out.”
She now has 18 wins on the LPGA, making the 27-year-old the youngest American with 18 titles since Nancy Lopez at age 23 won her 18th in 1980.
Arkansas senior Maria Jose Marin, who delighted the crowd with her Augusta National Women’s Amateur title last month, had a 69-69 weekend to finish fifth. The top 10 would make her eligible for next week at the Mizuho Americas Open, but she has finals.
Korda also is skipping next week after two straight wins. She had talked about lacking energy this week, but also making sure she was working instead of on vacation at a Mexican resort.
“I’ll enjoy a few days off,” Korda said.
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