Nelly Korda spent all of last year performing well by the numbers, but not winning any tournaments. She made the cut in all 19 events she played, finished in the top 10 nine times, and was just one missed approach shot away from winning the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills. She described the year as “weird,” but sure enough, she won’t have to use that word this year. With already one win and three top-tens under her belt in four starts, Korda looks poised to add another major to her trophy cabinet and how.

Records exist for a reason: to be broken, and Korda has done just that. With consecutive rounds of 65 at Memorial Park, she reached 14-under 130 after 36 holes. That is the lowest halfway score in Chevron Championship history. The previous mark of 132, set in 2018 by Sung Hyun Park and Pernilla Lindberg, is now gone. Korda leads by eight shots, doubling the previous record for the largest 36-hole lead at this event. In fact, it’s the lowest in all majors except the Amundi Evian Championship. No wonder Korda was grinning ear to ear when asked about her game.

“I just feel really good. I mean, I’m just hitting it in the spots that I want to, missing it into the spots that I want to. The communication between Jay [Jason McDede, her caddie] and I is really good…I think overall everything is really flowing,” Korda said afterward.

This is not the approach of someone chasing history. This is the approach of someone who has already decided the outcome. Korda has 15 birdies and just one bogey in 36 holes. According to Justin Ray, she is the first player since 1980 to post the outright lowest round of the day by two or more shots in both the first and second rounds of an LPGA major. That record stood for 46 years. She broke it with back-to-back 65s, almost as if it were routine. Unless someone shoots 67, Nelly Korda will be the sole owner of that unique piece of history.

“I played really well. It’s nice to birdie the last two as well. Maybe a little bit of ease of mind going into the weekend, but overall really happy with the way that I struck it, the way that I hit off the tee today, and also my putting on the green,” Korda told Sky Sports after her round.

Only once did Korda show any reaction. On the 18th hole, after her approach, she glanced at the leaderboard and smiled. She later explained the reason.

“I was actually shocked that it spun back a little because I hit a controlled nine iron and I wasn’t expecting it to kind of spin back. I was expecting it to kind of release a little, so I was just shocked at the way the ball actually reacted.”

Over 36 holes, Korda delivered record scores. The only unexpected moment was when the ball did not follow her plan. The key point is what the 2025 season showed: despite not winning, Nelly Korda improved her scoring average, Strokes Gained off the tee, and bogey avoidance compared to her seven-win 2024 season. The results were better, but the trophies did not follow.

During the offseason, Korda adjusted her schedule and trained with her coach, David Whelan. She also brought her putting coach to Houston. The 2025 season did not weaken her game. Instead, it produced the form that now has her eight shots ahead in a major.

Nelly Korda’s 2026 Chevron Builds on the Blueprint That Won in 2024

The 2025 season, when Korda didn’t win, wasn’t a collapse but more of a squeeze. Heading into the Chevron, she hadn’t finished lower than second in any of her four 2026 LPGA starts. That stretch included a win at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions to open the season, plus three straight runner-up finishes at the Fortinet Founders Cup, Ford Championship, and Aramco Championship.

A similar story happened two years earlier, about 40 miles north. In 2024 at The Club at Carlton Woods, Nelly Korda came in with four straight wins and left as a major champion, making it five LPGA Tour victories in a row. Only Nancy Lopez and Annika Sörenstam had done that before her. At that Chevron, her 36-hole score was 137, seven under par. At Memorial Park in 2026, her score at the same point is 130, thanks to her stellar putting. She spoke about working with David in the post-round interview as well.

“You know, what we really work on is the simple stuff: Reading the greens; starting it over my start target. He’s finally someone that’s giving my putting practice a sense of structure. Everything I do is very structured with him.”

Just a year after a winless season, she is seven shots better through two rounds at this major, on a course that most players found much tougher than the scores show. With two rounds left, she is in position for a third major title. Now only 36 holes remain between Nelly Korda and the famed Dinah Shore trophy.