Nelly Korda bogeyed her last hole at Mayakoba but still won by four shots. That’s where her game is currently. Her Riviera Maya Open was her third victory of the 2026 season and helped her break two LPGA records in the process.

First, she became the youngest American to reach 18 career LPGA victories in 46 years since Nancy Lopez did it in 1980. Second, she is now one of only two players since 1980 to start a season with six consecutive top-2 finishes. The only other player to do that was Annika Sorenstam in 2001. Nelly Korda has now matched that. Her 2026 record reads: 1st, 2nd, 2nd, T2, 1st, 1st.

Had she won by 5 or more strokes, she would have become the first player to win back-to-back events by 5 strokes or more since Lorena Ochoa in 2008. Korda won last week by 5 strokes. Anyways, the win also moved her to 23 LPGA Hall of Fame points, 4 short of induction.

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At the $2.5M event, she led by three strokes entering the final round. An eagle at the par-5 fifth, followed by back-to-back birdies, pushed her lead to six. From the eighth through the 17th, she went par after par. Arpichaya Yubol finished second, four back, after a double bogey on the 16th ended her challenge.

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“I’m just enjoying myself, and I love the competition. I’m just having fun,” she said after her win.

This is not the first time Korda has rewritten the record books. In 2024, she won five consecutive LPGA events, only the third player in history to do that after Nancy Lopez in 1978 and Sorenstam in 2004-05. She finished that season with seven wins, the first player to reach that number since Yani Tseng in 2011 and the first American to do it since 1990. She also won her first four starts of that season, something no player had done since Lorena Ochoa in 2008.

Then 2025 arrived, and no records were broken. However, #1 played well by most standards but did not win once all season. Brandel Chamblee called it the best winless season of the LPGA Tour. This story makes 2026 even more interesting.

There was no let-up in Nelly Korda’s dominance in the week in between.

Nelly Korda broke a record before the trophy was even handed out

Seven days after winning the Chevron Championship, Korda landed in Playa del Carmen and immediately looked like someone with unfinished business. Back-to-back 67s gave her a 54-hole score of 14-under, shattering the tournament’s existing scoring record by seven shots heading into the final round.

The record she broke was barely a year old. The Riviera Maya Open only launched in 2025, and Japanese rookie Chisato Iwai had set the 54-hole benchmark at 7-under. Her scorecard was clean, but the round had one real test.

She drove into a bunker and had to lay up on the par-4 ninth. Most players will lose a shot there. Nelly Korda hit a wedge to 8 feet and made the putt. Then she made birdies on 13 and 15, then an eagle.

We look forward to seeing Nelly win more and break more records!