Thitikul, who already has won in her home country at the Honda LPGA Thailand this season and played well in her first six events, will miss the cut for the first time this year at Memorial Park Golf Course. She shot three-over 74-73–147 to miss by one the weekend number that came at two over. Seventy-two players moved on.

The 23-year-old Thitikul is arguably the best player to have not won a major, as she has eight career victories and 57 top-10 finishes. She’s also the reigning player of the year on the LPGA Tour.

Before the Chevron Championship started, Thitikul was asked about not having won a major yet. The question will continue to follow her until she can check that off her list.

“The questions, you have it for every time I lose in a major for sure. Thank you for reminding every week,” Thitikul said with a laugh on Tuesday. “Obviously, I think it’s just another challenge of my career. I know what I have [under] my belt. Right now, at this age, I think I’ve accomplished a lot, but obviously a major is the one that I feel the first time is always the hardest. And then if I need to prove to myself that I can do that.”

Among the other accomplished players to miss the cut were past Chevron champion, Lydia Ko, Rose Zhang, A Lim Kim, Ariya Jutanugarn, Sei Young Kim, Lindy Duncan, and Chizzy Iwai.

Chizzy Iwai, who was in contention to win at the JM Eagle LA Championship last week before finishing T-7, was seven over par, 21 shots behind leader Nelly Korda. She figures to stick around Houston this weekend to watch her twin sister, Akie, who made the cut.

Alex Slitz

Ko, who turned 29 on Friday, can celebrate her birthday, but the Hall of Famer won’t be celebrating another major victory. She was presented with a slice of birthday cake after her round Friday and when she hugged the volunteer, the slice fell on its side on the plate and broke apart. It was just one of those days. Ko has won three majors, but she shot 72-75and was one shot off the cut line.

Last year, Jutanugarn had a chance to win the Chevron Championship on her final hole but she flubbed a chip shot. She still got into the five-woman playoff, but Mao Saigo won on the first playoff hole. This year, she’s missed the cut in her last three events.

Duncan, who was in the five-woman playoff as well, shot 72-76. She had double bogeys on the second and 10th holes Friday to derail her round.

World No. 9 Sei Young Kim, who had an eight-shot lead with five holes left during the third round in the JM Eagle LA Championship last week, missed the cut by two after shooting 73-75.

Zhang, who recently finished her education at Stanford, has played well this year, with two top-10s, but was one off the cut line. She had two double bogeys on her front nine (the back nine on the course) in the second round. Zhang is trying to get back to the peak form that saw her start her career by winning her first professional event at the Mizuho Americas Open in 2023.

A Lim Kim shot 78-69 and almost came back to make the cut but missed by one. She dug herself too big of a hole. She had an awfully tough stretch in which she played holes seven through 14 at six-over.

Next up for an opportunity to win a major: the U.S. Women’s Open, June 4-7 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

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World No. 2 Nelly Korda has put herself in position to run away with the Chevron Championship.

Korda, playing in the morning wave of the LPGA’s first major of the year, shot a second straight seven-under-par 65 on Friday and led the field by seven shots when she finished at Memorial Park Golf Course. At one point, she led by eight shots, and at 14- under 130, she opened up a huge gap with the lowest 36-hole score ever in a women’s major outside of the Amundi Evian Championship.

Almost can't get better than this

Nelly sticks the dart on 18 and gives herself a good look at a closing birdie pic.twitter.com/Qxg9N4qs8a

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 24, 2026

Korda has played impressive golf all season, and she’s continued that here, but there’s still 36 holes to play.

“I would say what’s challenging about playing with the lead is you have a target on your back in a sense, but also enjoy it. I enjoy golf,” Korda said. “I think this year I just wanted to have a different mindset change of, if I get into trouble, I’ll figure it out. Not like you look at something and—excuse my French—say I’m [screwed].

“… So that’s my biggest takeaway from last year and the years before. I don’t want to have that mindset. I want to be like, ‘OK, I’ll figure it out and not stress myself out too much.’”

She hasn’t been in much trouble. On Friday, she hit 11 of 13 fairways and 14 of 18 greens. She needed 27 putts, a day after just 24.

“Overall, really happy with today. Started a little bit slower, two under on the front. But it was nice to make a birdie on nine to kind of get it going into the back nine,” Korda said. “Back nine is definitely a little tougher overall than the front nine, so I was hitting it really well and I’m just capitalising on really good shots.”

Korda is capitalising on the par 5s, as well, shooting seven under for two rounds on them. That has her on pace to eclipse her performances on the longest holes in her other two major wins. She scored 11 under on the par 5s in capturing the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and 10 under in the 2024 Chevron. She’ll have 10 more tries on the course’s five par 5s over the weekend.

Memorial Park is rewarding long, accurate hitters and anyone who is going to come from behind is going to have to take advantage of the par 5s as well.

Korda’s lead is so big that her performance is being compared to Rory McIlroy’s in the recent Masters. He had a record six-shot lead after 36 holes, but a third-round 73 left him in a tie at the top with Cameron Young, who shot 65, heading into the final round. McIlroy would lose his lead on Sunday, but rallied on the back nine to win his second straight Masters.

The point is, nothing is guaranteed, though Memorial Park doesn’t have the kind of pitfalls of Augusta National. There are few bunkers or water hazards, and the rough is manageable.

Amateur Farah O’Keefe, a University of Texas golfer who was tied for second after her morning round of 69, talked to her caddie about trying to find a way.

“I told Bentley [Cotton], I compared it to Rory at the Masters,” O’Keefe said. “Really, you never know what can happen in golf. There is so much that’s random out there that you can get a bad break and it’s just kind of that thing. My dad and I say that golf is a staring contest and all you have to do is not blink first. So I’m just trying not to blink.”

O’Keefe was tied for second, seven shots back, after the morning with veteran Ryann O’Toole (68). The largest 36-hole lead in a major history is eight shots, which was done three times—the last being Mickey Wright in the 1961 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Korda won the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, which was shortened by the LPGA Tour to 54 holes due to weather. Korda finished second her next three events, and now she has this big lead. This feels very similar to her 2024 season when she won seven tournaments and a record-tying five consecutive.

“I just feel really good,” Korda said. “I’m just hitting it in the spots that I want to, missing it into the spots that I want to. The communication between [Jason] and I is really good, where if there is a tucked pin and it’s kind of stupid, I would rather give myself a longer lag putt and give myself the best opportunity for par. That’s kind of the way we been playing the past two days, not taking any kind of stupid risks. We’re going to go after the ones we can and where we have to play back and miss in the right spots, that’s kind of what I’m doing. I think overall everything is really flowing.”

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Nelly Korda continued her incredible hot streak, but this is clearly the most impressive round since it’s at the first major of the year.

Korda fired a seven-under 65 in an afternoon group Thursday at the Chevron Championship to put herself atop the leaderboard. She leads by two shots over Somi Lee and Patty Tavatanakit.

“I’m happy. Just day one out of four. A lot can happen,” Korda said. “Happy to be in this position and hoping to move forward.”

Everything was working well for Korda, especially her sizzling putter. She needed just 24 putts to get through the round at Memorial Park Golf Course.

“It feels good. I put in a good bit of work before this event on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday, I came out and putted in the rain when we were allowed to before the pro-am and also Wednesday,” Korda said. “Overall, as everyone does, we all prepped for this event, but it feels good to put a good round together.”

Korda shot the second-lowest opening round of a major championship in her career. Her previous low was a 64 in the Evian Championship in 2022 when she eventually tied for eighth place. She also had a bogey-free round, her first in a major since the second round of the 2024 Women’s British Open.

On her last nine holes [which was the front nine), Korda birdied Nos. 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8. Asked what she was happy with, there was plenty to talk about.

“Overall, everything,” Korda said. “Made some good up and downs. Made some good saves for par. I think just overall I was pretty happy with every part of the game. Just maybe hit my driver a little bit far left and right on a couple holes. There wasn’t just one direct miss. But on a golf course like this where the rough isn’t too high I think it’s OK.”

Nelly Korda claims the lead

She's -6 with two holes to go in her opening round pic.twitter.com/Pq8eKB0hlf

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 23, 2026

Her first round this year was a complete about-face from last year. As the defending champion in 2025, Korda shot an opening 77 and had to work hard just to make the cut.

Korda called this public course a bomber’s paradise earlier in the week. Asked how she’d like to see majors setup on the LPGA, Korda needed one word: “Long,” she said. “I think it should test every part of your game. I just think it should just play long and tough.”

Thursday the course setup was 6,651 yards, and Korda delivered. She was four-under on the par-5s.

Last year, Korda didn’t win a tournament after she had seven victories in 2024. This year, she’s already won the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions and she finished second in the other three tournaments. She’s trying to win her third major this week.

Korda’s life off the golf course is going well, too. She got engaged to her fiancee’, Casey Gunderson, last year. She’s played with her sister, Jessica Korda, this season as her sister is returning to play some professional golf. Her nephew Greyson was following her for a couple of holes on Thursday as well.

As is customary, she signed autographs for kids on Thursday, then Korda even obliged a volunteer by holding her phone so they could take a selfie of them together.

It was a good day.

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Nelly Korda is helping junior golfers in a major way. The Nelly Invitational winner—the AJGA event that World No. 1 Korda hosts—will now receive a special exemption into the Chevron Championship, the LPGA’s first major of the season

Chevron is also the new partner for the Nelly Invitational as it signed a three-year deal with the junior tournament, according to an AJGA release.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Chevron to the Nelly Invitational,” Korda said in the release. “With their support, we’re creating an event that not only brings together some of the best girls from around the world but also provides a platform to inspire and empower the next generation. Chevron’s investment helps us build on last year’s success and take this event further.”

The Nelly Invitational is played at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, which is Korda’s hometown in Florida. The tournament, played May 1-4, will award the winner a spot in the field for the Chevron Championship the following April in Texas.

Last year, Korda won the Chevron Championship—one of seven victories on the season. It was the lone major she won in last year’s historic season.

Chevron will also pay golfers a $2,000 stipend to help cover entry fees, flights, hotels and cars. International players will receive an additional $500 to help cover costs.

“Partnering with Chevron allows us to reduce financial barriers from players for what will become one of the top girls’ events worldwide along with providing a major exemption for the champion,” said Jason Etzen, the chief business officer of the AJGA. “Chevron is establishing itself as a catalyst for positive change in golf at all levels. Its focus on removing barriers and promoting competition matches perfectly to the AJGA. I can’t wait to see what we all achieve together.”

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“It was not an easy decision,” Korda wrote. “After the unbelievable week at The Chevron grinding through the mental and physical challenges of four events in the past five weeks, I am definitely feeling exhausted. With so much still to come throughout 2024, I feel I need to listen to my body and get some rest, so I can be ready for the remainder of the season.”

Korda, 25, began her win streak at the LPGA Drive On Championship in late January. She then took nearly two months off before returning to win three weeks in a row—in the Seri Pak Fir Hills Championship, Ford Championship and T-Mobile Match Play. The LPGA took a week off during the Masters, and then Korda impressively captured the second major of her career outside of Houston, shooting 13 under to beat Maja Stark by two shots in the Chevron.

Korda’s five straight victories match the LPGA-best streaks of Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam. The next opportunity for a sixth straight victory is expected to come at the Cognizant Founders Cup, May 19-22 in Clifton, N.J. She noted in her post, “I look forward to seeing everyone again in New Jersey!”

Leading off her post, Korda said, “Wow! What a week. The win still hasn’t sunk in but I have truly been overwhelmed by all of the love and support I’ve received. The crowds at Carlton Woods this past week were incredible and so too were all the messages received from those watching from afar.”

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“It’s an amazing feeling because all the hard work and the doubt that I had in my head from 2021,” said Korda, who shot 13-under-par 275 total. “I worked through it, and it’s been an amazing feeling these past couple weeks knowing that I can go on this stretch and that if I stay in my bubble and I keep golf in a sense simple and let it flow, then I can have so, so much fun out here. It’s just been an amazing time.

“To get five in a row, and my lucky number is 13, and for me to get it here in Houston and it to be a major feels even better.”

Sunday’s quest to history began early, with the 25-year-old American restarting her third round at 7 a.m., needing to finish six holes from a weather-delayed third round. Korda played them at even par, finishing at 10 under and a stroke off the lead.

Korda was unflappable on the final round’s front nine with a bogey-free 33. A chip in on the par-4 10th built a four-stroke lead. That’s when she started doing “Nelly things” which is her way of saying she made things more interesting than they needed to be down the stretch. Korda often caught herself thinking ahead to the 18th green and a victory, only to bring herself back to the present moment.

“I was really nervous on that back nine,” Korda said. “I really, really wanted this win.”

An errant drive on the 11th led to her first bogey in 39 holes. Korda missed a four-footer for a birdie on the par-5 13th. She drove it into the water on the 383-yard par-4 15th, the hardest hole on the course over the final round, resulting in another bogey.

“Those mistakes, you start to put a little bit more pressure on yourself that you don’t know what the other girls are doing ahead of you,” Korda said.

Even with no players getting within two strokes of Korda’s lead, she and caddie Jason McDede remembered their disappointing finish from the 2020 ANA Inspiration, the predecessor to the Chevron. Mirim Lee chipped in three times that Sunday at the Dinah Shore course to get into a playoff with Korda and Brooke Henderson. Lee stole the tournament with an eagle chip in on the 72nd hole and won the playoff with a birdie.

As Korda and McDede headed to Carlton Wood’s 16th, McDede turned to his boss and told her to finish with a clean scorecard.

“We got some pretty big heartbreak at Dinah losing in that playoff, and I think that’s kind of what we didn’t talk about it,” McDede said. “But I think It was in the back of our minds. It wasn’t going to be over till it was over.”

OFF THE FLAGSTICK! @NellyKorda nearly aces the 17th hole at the @Chevron_Golf! pic.twitter.com/Wr6OepdVpb

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 21, 2024

Korda responded with a par on 16 and a near-ace on the 165-yard par-3 17th, as her tee shot hit the pin. After missing the short birdie look, Korda piped a drive into the centre of the fairway on the 18th. Ahead, Stark made birdie to get within one of the lead, making it the first time since the fourth hole that was the case.

Korda then hit her second to pin high on the par-5 18th’s fringe. Finally, McDede and Korda took a breath. Korda two-putt for a birdie to cap off her five-in-a-row run.

“The swing on the 17th tee, and the swing on the 18th tee, and that swing here [18th approach], I won’t forget for a long, long time,” Korda’s coach Jamie Mulligan said.

Korda was unsure heading into 2024 if a season like this could happen. Following her four-win 2021 campaign, including Korda’s first major title at the Women’s PGA, the next two years of winless play put doubts into her mind if she could get another major title. In 2022, she was sidelined for six months following emergency surgery for a blood clot in her arm and didn’t win. Last year, despite 10 top-10 finishes, she couldn’t find the winner’s circle.

“I heard some outside voices from other people saying that they don’t know if I’ll ever be able to win another major again,” Korda said. “And I stuck to working extremely hard on and off the golf course, and I’m so thankful to have the team that I do.”

Nelly Korda – Chevron Championship – Gregory Shamus

After every day, while Korda met with the media, they had a meeting to break down the round. Mulligan sat McDede and Korda down at the start of the week, reminding them that Carlton Woods won’t become a birdie fest. He encouraged them to pick their spots to be aggressive. Baughman helps ensure Korda’s body stays in shape, as she’s playing fully healthy for the first time since her 2021 campaign. Mulligan serves as a beacon of positivity, with four of his sayings in Korda’s yardage book that she looks at before every shot. McDede is Korda’s best friend, serving as a punching bag when Korda needs it. Baughman, McDede, and Mulligan joined Korda in jumping into the pond outside the 18th.

“I just think she’s kind of slipped into [the system] more,” Mulligan said. “If you’re watching a game, if you’re watching a football game, and towards the end of the game, and everybody gets better, and she’s gotten better.”

The circle’s success has fueled a historic win streak that generated additional fan intrigue into the LPGA world. Korda is becoming a marquee draw the tour hasn’t seen since Michelle Wie West, with the crowds following Korda growing throughout the week to Sunday, which produced some of the largest galleries the LPGA has seen in recent years.

LPGA commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan even followed Korda during the final round.

Quite the company to join.
@NellyKorda is on an absolute heater pic.twitter.com/ZcEWAqOvht

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 22, 2024

Korda’s title run also gave the tour a potential jolt for its TV audience. On Saturday, it had only 57 minutes of live golf in its three hours on NBC due to a weather delay that pushed the final round to early Sunday morning. Fans who tuned into network TV Sunday witnessed over three hours of the 13-time winner’s march to history. NBC stayed with the final-round telecast after the initial 5 p.m. local window. There was a chance for PGA Tour fans to switch from the RBC Heritage as that was in a lengthy weather delay.

“I think we’ve had all of the stars were aligned for today,” Marcoux Samaan said.

Korda continues adding her name to the tour’s compendium of records. She is tied for the most consecutive tour wins in scheduled events (four), joining LPGA Hall of Famers Kathy Whitworth (1969), Mickey Wright (1962, 1963), Sorenstam (2001) and Lorena Ochoa (2008). Korda is the first World No. 1 to win an LPGA major since Lydia Ko at this event in 2016.

“What people don’t realize is people want a lot of your time doing press conferences, doing extra time, having to do other things outside of just playing golf, and she’s obviously handled that super well,” Ko said. “She’s been playing unbelievable.

“I don’t think there is, in my era, I’m not really sure if anyone has played better over a stretch of events.”

There will not be much rest for Korda. She said that she intends to play in the JM Eagle LA Open next week at Wilshire Country Club. And she’ll tee it up with a chance to become the first to win five consecutive scheduled events and win six starts in a row for the first time on the LPGA.

“I’m going to enjoy this right now and then I’ll think about that,” Korda said. “But yeah, it’s been an amazing time. Hopefully keep the streak alive. But I’ve been so grateful to compete week in and week out and get the five in a row, too.”

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It took a solid 48 hours before Lilia Vu finally felt like a major champion. The whirlwind Sunday at the Chevron Championship didn’t allow her to sit back and take in all that she had accomplished, having birdied the last two holes in regulation at the Club at Carlton Woods outside Houston, then winning with a birdie in the first extra playoff hole.

With two holes remaining, she didn’t think she had a chance to win the event. An hour later, she was holding the trophy, after jumping in the pond just off the 18th green.

“It’s starting to feel real now,” Vu on said Tuesday from this week’s JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club, a place she knows well because she played there every Wednesday morning at 6.30am as a member of the UCLA golf team. Vu was the Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2018, a three-time First-Team All-American and ranks first in all-time victories at UCLA with eight.

“It’s just very nostalgic to be in the area,” said Vu, who grew up 30 minutes south of downtown Los Angeles. “It feels like home, so it’s kind of nice to come back after Chevron and be here, somewhere that I know that family and friends are going to come out this weekend, too.”

Back to Sunday, where Vu captured her second LPGA title and first major. She missed her flight home at 8pm from Texas. The weather delay earlier helped with that, even before she vaulted into contention. Then, while waiting to see how Angel Yin would before down the stretch, Vu thought she could find a way to see the Taylor Swift concert in town that night. But she ended up winning and her Sunday night suddenly was booked solid.

Vu, 25, flew back to Los Angeles on Monday, landed at 3pm, went with family to their favourite restaurant, then returned home to pack for a three-week stretch that includes the International Crown and Founders Cup events after this week’s home game at Wilshire, which boasts eight of the top 10 in the Rolex Rankings and 17 of the top 20. She was only home for 18 hours.

“It’s amazing here,” Vu said. “It’s super fun. I said this before, it’s different from all the neighbouring golf courses around here. I feel like it can play really difficult if the wind gets up. It’s already difficult on its own. I think around the greens it’s difficult, and the putting greens are difficult. I think it should be a good test for everybody out here.”

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The outpouring of emotion following a victory reveals the years of sacrifice, dedication, and moments of self-doubt culminating in triumph.

The tears streamed down Lilia Vu’s face on Sunday after she holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to overcome a four-shot deficit and beat fellow California native Angel Yin to win the Chevron Championship at Carlton Woods. Her emotion after winning her first LPGA Tour major was about honouring multiple generations of her family’s sacrifice in giving her a chance to achieve her dreams.

For the win!

Lilia Vu birdies the first playoff hole to win the 2023 Chevron Championship! pic.twitter.com/bn0iPR0VLe

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 23, 2023

“Everything happens for a reason,” said Vu, who birdied the last two holes of regulation to shoot 68 and tie for first at 10-under. “All the bad things … everything I’ve always struggled through, family-wise. I think of myself as my biggest obstacle. I had a very tough, not easy past two days. I was definitely my own enemy. I don’t know how I pulled this out.”

The journey started two generations prior, with her maternal grandfather, Dinh Du, getting his family out of war-torn Vietnam. For months in 1982, seven years after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, he hid away in the countryside to slowly build a boat. He risked his life making the craft to give his family a chance to escape. Then, one night, he told everyone it was time to go.

“My dad said that we need to get out of Vietnam to get a better life,” Vu’s mom, Kieu Thuy, said on Sunday. “We chose America, and luckily, we did it.”

Du built a boat for 54 people. As the craft took off, people from the shore swam to climb on aboard. Du turned no one away, ending up with 82 souls searching for a new life. Hope started to fade as the boat leaked two days into the journey. Du fired off flares hoping for anyone to help them.

Fortunately, the USS Brewton, a United States Navy warship, saw Du’s flares. They rescued everyone on the boat.

“The reason I’m here is because of my grandpa,” said the 25-year-old Vu, who was born and raised in Fountain Valley, California, and attended UCLA.

Thuy felt very emotional hearing the impact her father’s sacrifices had on Vu, and the mother cried before heading to the locker room to rejoin her daughter.

“My dad, he’s my hero,” Thuy said.

Du continued serving as the patriarch of his family up until his passing near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As he went to the hospital for a check-up on his heart condition, he chatted with Vu. Vu explained to her grandfather that she wasn’t playing her best golf. She just finished a 2019 LPGA rookie season in which Vu made one cut in nine starts. A demotion to the Epson Tour led to similar struggles to begin the year. His advice ended up being the last he’d ever give Vu, as he passed at the hospital.

“The last thing he told me was to play my best,” Vu said. “He’s in the hospital, thinking of me and my tournament.”

His advice has stayed with Vu ever since, as she thinks quite a bit of the day he passed. That included Sunday, where his memory helped keep her grounded. Vu battled a tangle of emotions in the tournament, from frustration, moodiness, and not understanding why she was so angry with herself.

“Even today, I was getting really upset on the course,” Vu said. “I just had to remind myself, like, grandpa is with you, and he’d be really disappointed if you were getting upset like this and that you didn’t get your act together.”

Lilia Vu only made one cut during her rookie LPGA Tour season in 2019.

Vu spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons on the @EpsonTour, where she won three times and re-qualified for the LPGA Tour.

She's now won twice on Tour in 2023 and is a major champion.

Never give up. pic.twitter.com/Dsik8adwOG

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 24, 2023

Her father, Douglas Vu, also gave simple advice again to his daughter. He served as her swing coach from when Vu turned six to heading to UCLA for her first year of college. Vu credited him for his advice that one good round could lead to a victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand, where Vu went on to win in February for her first LPGA title. His thoughts after hugging her at 8pm on Saturday before Vu went to her room echoed a similar sentiment.

“I said keep your focus on the game,” he said. “If you have mid-60s [round], you may win.”

Vu’s caddie, Cole Pensanti, also kept an optimistic tone on Sunday. He reminded Vu that she came from six behind in the final round to win in Thailand and could make a comeback at Carlton Woods.

Vu cut into the four-shot deficit quickly on Sunday. On a challenging scoring day where Carlton Woods gave up only nine rounds under par, Vu birdied the second and third. Her birdie on the par-5 eighth moved Vu to nine-under, a stroke off the lead.

Then, frustration mounted. Pensanti felt Vu tried to force it over the middle of the round, not making the birdies she wanted. Vu bogeyed the ninth, then started the back nine with seven pars.

Pensanti’s advice echoed both her father’s and grandfather’s advice. “Same thing I always say, just let it happen,” Pensanti said.

That turned into birdies on the 17th and 18th to take the clubhouse lead at 10-under. Vu sat at the scorer’s tent for 25 minutes before heading to the range to warm up for 25 minutes. Then, she heard the roar on the 18th green when Yin made birdie to force the playoff and eventual victory worth $765,000.

For Yin, the co-leader at 10-under after 54 holes, getting into the playoff seemed out of nowhere this week. She had one top-10 finish before the Chevron since late July 2021. Yet even on a day when she didn’t feel her best, Yin didn’t express frustration about the round. Instead, she beamed with pride at her journey rather than agonising over the close defeat.

“I’m just really happy with who I am, where I am, and what I’m doing right now,” Yin said. “Just a lot to appreciate. If I can talk about how much I appreciate life right now, I’ll get emotional, not over this [loss].”
Yin led Vu by two shots with three holes to play, but she bogeyed the 16th and 17th after hitting her tee shots into bunkers. At the 18th, she reached the par-5 green in two shots and two-putted for birdie to close regulation with a 72.

Nelly Korda also appreciated her journey, even without a victory. She stood two shots away from her second major title at the beginning of the day, and a potential return to the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings sat 18 holes away. While Korda spent most of the day out of striking distance of contention, a closing eagle on the 18 delivered a one-under 71 Sunday that got Korda into solo third.
With current World No. 1 Lydia Ko missing the cut for the first time in 40 starts, the LPGA projected Korda to return to the top of the rankings. It’s her second time as the No. 1 player since missing the Chevron Championship last season due to a blood clot.

“It would have been obviously very nice to win the major, as well, but I think being World No. 1 is very rewarding,” Korda said. “All my hard work has paid off, and hopefully continue building, but the No. 1 ranking keeps bouncing back and forth, back and forth.”

Lilia takes the leap!

The 2x Tour winner is now a major champion pic.twitter.com/cx90BehK50

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 23, 2023

Vu’s victory culminated with a ‘traditional’ leap into the new venue’s pond alongside her caddie and trainer. Her parents watched on from afar, taking in the family affair of their daughter becoming a major champion.

“It means the world,” Vu said of her parents watching her victory. “I honestly want them everywhere whenever I play.”

No matter where Vu goes, her family is always with her, in spirit or in person.

The post Winning the Chevron Championship was a family triumph for Lilia Vu appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The overall purse at the LPGA’s first major of 2023 is a tournament record $5.1 million, and Vu took home $765,000 by making birdie in the first sudden-death playoff hole to top Angel Yin. Vu shot 68-69-73-68 to sit in the house at 10-under. Yin made birdie on the par-5 18th hole in regulation to shoot 72 and get into the playoff. During the playoff Yin hit her second shot into the water guarding the green, while Vu, 25, was over the back of the green in two shots but got up and down to make birdie and win her second LPGA title and first major championship.

The move from California’s Mission Hills Country Club, site of the event for the previous 51 years, to Texas allowed the tournament to secure its new title sponsor and beef up the overall purse. A year ago, Chevron boosted the prize money payout from $3 million to $5 million.

Win: Lilia Vu, -10/278, $765,000
2: Angel Yin, -10/278, $479,680
3: Nelly Korda, -9/279, $347,974
T-4: Atthaya Thitikul, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: A Lim Kim, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: Amy Yang, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: Albane Valenzuela, -8/280, $188,300
T-4: Allisen Corpuz, -8/280, $188,300
T-9: Jin Young Ko, -7/281, $111,615
T-9: Megan Khang, -7/281, $111,615
11: Hyo Joo Kim, -6/282, $98,481
T-12: Georgia Hall, -5/283, $89,026
T-12: Carlota Ciganda, -5/283, $89,026
T-14: Ariya Jutanugarn, -4/284, $76,334
T-14: Celine Boutier, -4/284, $76,334
T-14: Xiyu Lin, -4/284, $76,334
17: Hye-Jin Choi, -3/285, $68,283
T-18: Maddie Szeryk, -2/286, $61,585
T-18: In Gee Chun, -2/286, $61,585
T-18: Cheyenne Knight, -2/286, $61,585
T-18: Ashleigh Buhai, -2/286, $61,585
22: Amanda Doherty, -1/287, $56,200
T-23: Leona Maguire, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Brittany Lincicome, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Brooke Henderson, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Eun-Hee Ji, E/288, $50,214
T-23: Ally Ewing, E/288, $50,214
T-28: Eila Galitsky (a), +1/289, $0
T-28: Danielle Kang, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Jessica Korda, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Matilda Castren, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Hinako Shibuno, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Gaby Lopez, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Nanna Koerstz Madsen, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Lindsey Weaver-Wright, +1/289, $38,933
T-28: Marina Alex, +1/289, $38,933
T-37: Nasa Hataoka, +2/290, $30,333
T-37: Pagaree Anannarukarn, +2/290, $30,333
T-37: Jodi Ewart Shadoff, +2/290, $30,333
T-37: Maja Stark, +2/290, $30,333
T-41: Minjee Lee, +3/291, $25,737
T-41: Narin An, +3/291, $25,737
T-41: Patty Tavatanakit, +3/291, $25,737
T-41: Ruoning Yin, +3/291, $25,737
T-45: Dana Fall, +4/292, $22,322
T-45: Gemma Dryburgh, +4/292, $22,322
T-45: Pavarisa Yoktuan, +4/292, $22,322
T-45: Amari Avery (a), +4/292, $0
T-49: Stephanie Kyriacou, +5/293, $19,958
T-49: Peiyun Chien, +5/293, $19,958
T-49: Chella Choi, +5/293, $19,958
T-52: Ayaka Furue, +6/294, $18,121
T-52: Sei Young Kim, +6/294, $18,121
T-54: Lucy Li, +7/295, $17,069
T-54: Ryann O’Toole, +7/295, $17,069
T-56: Yuna Nishimura, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Hae Ran Ryu, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Andrea Lee, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Karis Davidson, +8/296, $15,232
T-56: Linnea Strom, +8/296, $15,232
T-61: Jing Yan, +9/297, $13,395
T-61: Dewi Weber, +9/297, $13,395
T-63: Brittany Altomare, +10/298, $12,737
T-63: Wei-Ling Hsu, +10/298, $12,737
65: Mao Saigo, +11/299, $12,343
66: Sarah Schmelzel, +12/300, $12,082
T-67: Lauren Stephenson, +13/301, $11,686
T-67: Charlotte Thomas, +13/301, $11,686

The post Here’s the prize money payout for each golfer at the 2023 Chevron Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

There is only one place in professional golf where players try to intentionally skip the ball off the water and onto a par-3 green. That would be Augusta National Golf Club, where the golfers (and sometimes their caddies) entertain the gallery during practice rounds for the Masters by acting like kids skipping stones across the tranquil pond at the 16th hole. They sometimes actually pull it off.

On Saturday in the LPGA’s Chevron Championship outside of Houston, Angel Yin wasn’t trying to be so dramatic while rising to the top of the leaderboard in the third round. The 24-year-old California native, who shot five-under 67 to be tie for the lead at 10-under, was simply attempting to get her tee shot close to a pin just paces off the front of the pond-protected green at the par-3 12th at Carlton Woods.

Yin played her shot, but it was at least 10 yards short of the flag and found the water with a splash. Only — somehow — the ball reappeared out of the pond, bounded onto the bank and, we repeat — somehow — stayed on the bank without rolling back in. A smiling Yin couldn’t believe her good fortune. “Oh my gosh,” she is heard saying.

.@angelyinlol needs to buy a lottery ticket after this lucky bounce pic.twitter.com/A8aS56Q0OT

— LPGA (@LPGA) April 22, 2023

“Wow,” said NBC Sports commentator Morgan Pressel.

This was no skip, really. It was like a fish caught it and spat it out- — a scenario no less out there than the speculation that followed. Both Pressel and Karen Stupples wondered if the ball hit one of the many turtles in the lakes at Carlton Woods. “It, honestly, had to have hit a turtle,” Pressel said. “What else could it have hit?”

Anchor Terry Gannon questioned that a bit. “I hope not,” he said. “I hope it’s all right, put it that way.”

When the broadcast returned from commercial, Stupples had investigated the pond, reporting: “I went down there to have a look at what could possibly be under there to help the ball stay up. It is fairly shallow, but … ”

In other words, no turtles sighted.

As Stupples was speaking, Yin hit her second-shot pitch, and it nearly went in, grazing the edge of the hole for what would have been one of the greatest water birdies ever. As it is, in an interview after the round, Yin said of the shot: “Extremely shocked. I thought I was going to get the car for that. Karen [Stupples] was, like, go buy the lottery.”

We will never know how the ball escaped the pond, but if Yin were to go on to win, it would be one of the luckiest breaks in major championship history.

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