The post 3 reasons why Nelly Korda has been historically dominant this season appeared first on Golf.

The post 3 reasons why Nelly Korda has been historically dominant this season appeared first on Golf.

On paper, Nelly Korda’s 2026 season almost doesn’t seem real.

In her first six starts, Korda has three wins and three runner-up finishes. Because two of the second-place results came in Hyo Joo Kim victories, Korda has more wins in 2026 than there are players who have finished ahead of her (Solheim Cup teammate Lauren Coughlin, in Las Vegas, is the other).

Korda’s sprint back to the top of the Rolex World Rankings has her rubbing shoulders with legends. She is one of just two players since 1980 to start an LPGA season with six consecutive top-2 finishes, joining Annika Sorenstam (2001). Sorenstam won eight times that season.

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Korda is the first player since Lorena Ochoa in 2008 to win an LPGA tournament by four strokes or more in back-to-back weeks. Her victory in Mexico was the 18th of her LPGA career, making her the youngest American player to reach that benchmark since Nancy Lopez in 1980.

The rare air Korda now breathes is reserved for all-timers. So, what is separating her from her peers? Where does she gain her greatest advantages on the field?

Let’s break down what has made Nelly Korda so hard to beat.

Approach play (especially from the rough)

Korda’s angle of attack with her irons is vital to her success, especially this season. When missing the fairway off the tee on par-4s and 5s this year, Korda has gone on to hit the green in regulation at a rate of 68.0%. Not only is that the highest rate on Tour among qualified players, the gap between her and her peers is enormous. Every player not named Nelly Korda is hitting the green in that situation just 51.8% of the time.

That aspect of Korda’s iron play has led to the most impressive strokes gained approach numbers of her career. From 2022 through the 2025 season, Nelly averaged 0.35 strokes gained approach per round. She gained strokes with her approach play in 62.8% of her overall rounds and gained at least a full stroke in 32.7% of them. This season, Korda is on another planet when it comes to this metric. She leads the LPGA in strokes gained approach, gaining a whopping 1.97 per round. She’s gained strokes with her approach play in all but one round — and gained a stroke or more 83.3% of the time.

Over the previous three seasons, players on the LPGA Tour gained three or more strokes with their approach play in about 4% of overall rounds played. In 2025, Nelly is doing that at a staggering 22% clip.

Short-game prowess

On the relatively rare occasion that Korda has missed the green in regulation this season, her short game has been brilliant. She is getting up-and-down at a 75.0% clip so far in 2026, the best rate of any player on the LPGA. What was once a bit of a weakness in her statistical profile has now joined her array of elite skills: As recently as 2022, Korda ranked outside the top-100 in scrambling percentage. Last season, she ranked 55th (57.7%).

Korda’s bunker play has been a big reason in the improvement. From 2022 through 2025, she ranked anywhere from 72nd to 138th on the LPGA in sand save percentage. Through her win in Mexico, she’s 11-for-16 saving par from greenside bunkers, good for the third-best rate on Tour.

Instruction

'Coca-cola': Nelly Korda explains the secret behind her smooth tempo

By: Maddi MacClurg

All of this has helped forge one of her most impressive statistical feats in 2026: a bogey or worse percentage of 7.97%. Not only is that the lowest rate on the LPGA, it’s also more than 4 full percentage points better than anyone else. Haeran Ryu and Miyu Yamashita are tied for second lowest, at 12.26%. Korda made just seven bogeys combined in her back-to-back wins in Houston and Mexico.

Korda already has six bogey-free rounds this season, tied with Chizzy Iwai for most on the LPGA Tour. She had just four all of last season and didn’t record her second of the season until October.

Par-5 dominance

Korda’s length off the tee has always provided her a greater ability to take advantage of scoring opportunities on par-5s. In her 18 LPGA wins, she is a combined 160 under par on par-5s. In each of the previous five seasons, she’s ranked either first or second on the Tour that season in par-5 performance.

Yet somehow, in 2026, Korda has found a way to be even more dominant on par 5s. She has ranked in the top-5 in the field in par-5 scoring in all six of her starts. She did that in just four tournaments all of last season — when she tied for the best par-5 scoring average on the LPGA Tour! Korda currently averages a preposterous 4.34 strokes per par-5 played, a full tenth of a stroke better than anyone else and nearly three-tenths of a stroke better than the LPGA average.

Korda was double-digits under par on par-5s in just two tournaments all last season. This year she already has done that four times in six starts.

Korda will enter this week’s event, the Kroger Queen City Championship, with a season scoring average of 68.04. Per Elias, that’s the second-best scoring average for any player through the first 23 rounds of a specific season going back to 1980. Only Ochoa in 2008 (67.87) has had a better scoring start to a year.

What we are witnessing this season from Nelly Korda is a brilliant athlete at the peak of her craft.

Soak it up.

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The post ‘Coca-cola’: Nelly Korda explains the secret behind her smooth tempo appeared first on Golf.

The post ‘Coca-cola’: Nelly Korda explains the secret behind her smooth tempo appeared first on Golf.

Fresh off her 18th LPGA Tour win at the 2026 Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, Nelly Korda joined the Pat McAfee Show on Monday to discuss her recent major championship victory, her dominance in the game and even the evolution of her swing.

But the most valuable takeaway came when Korda revealed the key to her famously fluid swing.

When asked by McAfee about how her swing has changed since she started playing, Korda was quick to credit her swing coach, David Whelan, who she explained has played a critical role in shaping her current swing. Korda also placed emphasis on the early influence of her parents, saying it was a simple swing cue from her dad that has helped her maintain her smooth tempo throughout her career.

“[My parents] spent so many hours with me just working on tempo” Korda said, “that is the one thing they ingrained into my brain. My dad always referred to it as “coca-cola…”

What started as a simple childhood cue for building rhythm became the foundation of Korda’s entire swing. Her “coca-cola” mantra isn’t about literal timing, but about preventing any sense of rushing. By anchoring her tempo to that easy, two-beat cadence, she developed the sequencing needed to swing smoothly.

“That was the key,” she continued, “It was super simple but it was the key to having a very fluid swing.”

If you want to build this into your swing, start at half speed. Make a few practice swings focusing only on a steady rhythm, not mechanics. Once that feels natural, gradually add speed while maintaining your tempo.

You can use your transition as a checkpoint. If your swing feels jerky or rushed as you start your downswing, your tempo is probably off. Remember, good swings stay smooth through that change of direction.

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The post Tour Confidential: Answering biggest questions about LIV Golf’s future appeared first on Golf.

The post Tour Confidential: Answering biggest questions about LIV Golf’s future appeared first on Golf.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, our writers discuss LIV Golf’s future after the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund announced it will cut funding for the rebel league after the 2026 season.

In a press release Thursday, LIV Golf announced new board members as it transitions from “a foundational launch phase to a diversified, multi-partner investment model.” Hours later, its bankroller, the Saudi PIF, released its own statement saying the “PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season. The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF’s investment strategy.” Now that you’ve had a few days to digest this bombshell — and after a rollercoaster April for LIV Golf — what thought has lingered with you?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@joshsens): That for all the tumult, not much changed, aside from some players getting a whole lot richer. I suppose you could say LIV’s birth shook the Tour out of its complacency, which led to (ongoing) schedule changes and even fatter purses for already extravagantly paid golfers. Beyond that, though, what? Is there now an insatiable demand for team golf? There is not. Is professional golf itself a better product now for fans? I don’t see a ton of evidence of that. 

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): I think Sens pretty much nailed it. What will stick with me long after LIV either morphs into something else or goes away entirely is that money couldn’t buy the parts of professional golf that actually resonate with fans: the tradition, the history and the meaning of the results. Billions of dollars can do a lot, but they can’t speed up time. It takes decades for sports leagues to resonate with fans and to develop a connection. LIV Golf was never going to be able to achieve that goal in a short time frame. As our Michael Bamberger wrote, LIV Golf changed the PGA Tour, but not for the better. And I feel like a reckoning is coming now that the Tour’s great opponent is teetering. 

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): Good points, gents. My lingering thought was this: We never heard the “don” of LIV Golf, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, say a single word. However golf history remembers LIV’s most powerful Saudi benefactor, it will NOT remember him for saying a single word about the sport. “His Excellency” left golf as he entered it: Without a peep.

At Trump Doral for this week’s Cadillac Championship, several players were asked if LIV members should be welcomed back to the PGA Tour, and what types of penalties they should face. If you werePGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp, how would you handle players’ reintegration? Is it different for everyone? Would you not allow certain players at all?

Sens: Open a pathway for guys to play their way back on, with a point system that has some kind of reward for past performance. So that maybe the likes of Bryson and Rahm and Smith can compete in regular Tour events but not elevated events, which they’d still have to play their way into. The less relevant LIV guys would probably just retire rather than face that grind. And the younger guys would be left to try to earn their cards, which is what they’d probably be doing anyway. 

Schrock: It’s going to have to be a case-by-case basis. As Rolapp and Jordan Spieth have noted, the PGA Tour extended an offer to Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith earlier this year and it wasn’t accepted. The next deal shouldn’t be as forgiving. Both Spieth and Rolapp also subtly mentioned the lawsuit that DeChambeau was a key plaintiff in after LIV launched in 2022. That’s a lawsuit that PGA Tour players had to pay to defend, and the road back for those who signed on to sue the Tour should be harsher than those who went to LIV quietly, like Brooks Koepka, and didn’t rock the boat. Rahm will be the interesting case. His exodus came at a time when LIV was floundering, and it gave the rebel league juice and calcified the two sides’ stances in golf’s civil conflict. That rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. I’m not sure there’s an easy way to bring either of the big names back without upsetting a big portion of Tour membership, but the Tour would certainly benefit economically from reintegrating them quickly. As for the rest of LIV’s roster, some who resigned their membership, like Patrick Reed, can try to play their way back via the DP World Tour or KFT. Many will disappear with their millions and not even knock on the door at the global home. In all honesty, we’re probably talking about 15-20 players in total that decisions need to be made on.

Colgan: I’d give Bryson a path back. His presence would single-handedly change the PGA Tour’s economics, and he’s probably the only LIV player for whom that is true (Jon Rahm probably deserves consideration here as well). Everyone else would be subject to a lengthy (and expensive) return process through the Tour’s strategic partners at the DP World Tour and the KFT, or a short-term retirement.

News

LIV Golf changed the PGA Tour — but not for the better

By: Michael Bamberger

Even if LIV Golf receives alternative funding, with the substantial PIF coffers no longer available, does this end any sort of competition that was remaining with the PGA Tour?

Sens: I think so. If LIV taught us anything, it’s that the world does not need more professional golf. At least not for the money these guys think they deserve to be making. Ironically, the Tour’s real competition for eyeballs these days doesn’t come from LIV. It comes from a bunch of YouTube bros producing their own content. 

Schrock: Yes. Without the $30 million purses and signing bonuses, LIV will cease to be any sort of threat to the PGA Tour. It sounds like it’s close to a wrap, barring an unforeseen bailout.

Colgan: No fat lady is singing. Yet. But it sounds like she’s warming up. 

What’s the best-case scenario for LIV Golf going forward?

Sens: Maybe pivot to crypto?

Schrock: Try to merge with the DP World Tour. LIV can slink along with limited funds, but there will almost certainly be a talent exodus once the money dries up.

Colgan: I think there’s a vision that could exist with significantly smaller purses at LIV’s previously successful golf-crazy venues (Korea, Australia, South Africa). The problem LIV is going to run into is that every sports league needs significant TV revenue to survive, and they’re not anywhere close to that right now.

Sunday’s golf slate featured two blowouts, as Nelly Korda won by four in Mexico and Cameron Young won by six in Florida. Both have had fantastic starts to 2026, but which one are you taking as most likely to continue this success through the summer?

Sens: I think they’ll both keep rolling, but Young’s summer is going to stand out just a bit more boldly when he wins his first major at Shinnecock.

Schrock: It’s Korda for multiple reasons. The first is that she’s the unquestioned best player on her tour. Young has been fantastic but has to deal with Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and the blistering hot Matt Fitzpatrick. Korda changed her mentality after a winless 2025 and has been relentless to start this season. The only thing that can hold her back is a balky putter, but her new putting coach seems to have at least made that a net neutral. I expect her to win at least one more major this year and wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a three-major 2026 for Nelly.

Colgan: Cam! He’s a no-doubt top-5 player in the world right now, and a maiden voyage PGA Championship at Philly looms.

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The post Nelly Korda’s emphatic Riviera Maya win ended with a golf ‘humbling’ appeared first on Golf.

The post Nelly Korda’s emphatic Riviera Maya win ended with a golf ‘humbling’ appeared first on Golf.

A week ago, Nelly Korda lifted her arms in triumph at the Chevron Championship, the year’s first major. She raised them high as the Houston sun set behind her and then brought them down emphatically, having just survived a mentally taxing weekend at Memorial Park.

Seven days later, Korda rolled in a bogey putt on the 18th hole at El Camaleón Golf Course at Mayakoba and stretched her arms out briefly before dropping them and lightly punching the air to celebrate a four-shot win at the Riviera Maya Open, her third of the season and second in a row.

It was another romp for Korda, who now has six top-two finishes in a row to start the season. This one felt different but came with even more history for the best player on the planet.

With the win, she became the youngest American since Nancy Lopez in 1980 to reach 18 career victories. She became the first player to win in the start after winning a major since Celine Boutier won the 2023 Scottish Open after winning the Evian. Korda is the first American to achieve the feat since Meg Mallon in 2024. She has more wins this season (3) than players who have finished ahead of her this season (Hyo Joo Kim twice, Lauren Coughlin).

Korda didn’t have to play in Mexico. After romping at the Chevron to win her third major title, she could’ve cited physical fatigue and dropped out to go enjoy her latest marquee victory. But instead, the newly-minted World No. 1 chose to tee it up in Mexico and continue her dominant run. Why did she do it? Because Nelly Korda is chasing something unquantifiable.

“Whatever I set my heart to,” Korda said pre-tournament about her next goal. “I mean, I just love competing and I love being out here competing. I’m always striving to be better and to contend in every major, every tournament. Just because what I’ve accomplished, what’s funny with sports is that’s in the past. What you want to do is look to the future and look to improve and look to it contend in the bigger events. Even if you get beat, it doesn’t matter. That’s kind of what motivates me to continuously put myself in that position.”

News

Nelly Korda conquered herself to win the Chevron Championship

By: Josh Schrock

For Korda, that manifested itself in a week that saw her go 60 holes without a bogey. On Sunday, Korda entered the final round with a three-shot lead and then delivered an early haymaker to the field when she went eagle-birdie-birdie at 5, 6 and 7 to stretch her lead to seven. From there, all that was left was a walk to another trophy and another step toward the LPGA Hall of Fame.

But golf has a way of getting the last laugh even when you’re at your best. For Korda, that moment came on her final hole of the week, the par-5 18th.

With music pumping and the Mexico crowd ready to celebrate another Nelly Korda win, Korda lost her tee shot right into the jungle. After a provisional, she hit her third into the fairway bunker and then flew her next shot over the green and into the patrons. Korda’s chip from the sandy area behind the green rolled past the pin and left her a lengthy bogey putt. Of course, Nelly Korda rolled that in and then had to laugh about her adventure to her latest trophy.

“You just never know,” Korda told Karen Stupples after the round. “It’s golf. Like on the last hole here, I was humbled by golf there. I had a pretty smooth day and on the last hole just kind of like humbles you a little bit.”

Korda now has 18 career LPGA wins and 23 of the 27 points needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame. She’ll take next week off to rest and soak up the latest batch of brilliant golf. Then, she’ll head to Cincinnati for the Kroger Queen City Championship before turning her attention to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club.

But Nelly Korda isn’t looking far into the future. She knows her focus has to be on the next step. Because, as the 18th hole on Sunday showed her, you never know when the next obstacle might arrive.

“I’m just happy to be competing out here healthy, motivated,” Korda said on Sunday. “You know, I’m so happy on the golf course. I’m happy off the golf course. I just think that, yes, I am living my best life for sure. But golf also humbles you, so I know that I need to enjoy these moments.

“There have been so many times that legends have told me to smell the roses, so now I have a week off and I can officially smell the roses for a few days.”

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The post Despite not having ‘A-game,’ Nelly Korda is dominating again this week appeared first on Golf.

The post Despite not having ‘A-game,’ Nelly Korda is dominating again this week appeared first on Golf.

In what is becoming routine (again), Nelly Korda holds a big lead heading into the final round of an LPGA event. This time, it’s the 2026 Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, where Korda has reached 14 under through three rounds.

That’s good enough for a three-shot lead over her nearest challenger, Arpichaya Yubol.

Korda’s latest LPGA blitz comes just one week after her last. At the 2026 Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the year, Korda put together a five-stroke victory for her second Chevron title and third career major win.

The victory also saw Korda retake the No. 1 position in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Nelly Korda with 3-shot lead: ‘You’re never going to have your A-game’

This week, Korda has gone 68-67-67 over the first three rounds at El Camaleon Golf Course to build her advantage.

Despite her dominant performance so far, Korda surprisingly admitted she didn’t have her “A-game” this week in her press conference Saturday evening.

“I feel good. I love competing,” Korda said. “You’re never going to have your A-game.”

She elaborated on her point, explaining that even the greatest players have to find a way to win when their games aren’t in perfect shape.

News

Nelly Korda conquered herself to win the Chevron Championship

By: Josh Schrock

“A lot of players, if you talk to them in the past, a common question, or I think a question a lot of people should ask is like, did you win with your A-game? Did you win your B-game or your C-game?” Korda said. “I’ve talked to guys, I’ve talked to girls, and rarely have they ever said, I won with my A-game that week. It’s all about just grinding it out and being confident in knowing that you know, you’re going to make mistakes, but not to emphasize them too much and to quickly try and bounce back.”

And Korda has certainly done that this season. Her Chevron title was her second of the year, following her first at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Though that victory was given to her when the tournament was called after 54 holes.

In all three of her other starts this season, Korda has finished runner-up. That record through five starts (1-2-2-T2-1) is mind-bendingly good. But Korda has not been immune to a late swoon when in contention this year.

At the 2026 Fortinet Founders Cup, Korda was tied for the lead with eight holes to play when a late three-putt doomed her chances at victory. At the 2026 Ford Championship, she watched her 36-hole lead vanish, resulting in another runner-up. She shot a 75 on Sunday at the Aramco Championship to finish T2.

Korda, however, is confident in her chances on Sunday in Mexico. As she said after her third round, she knows she will make mistakes, but experience has taught her how to expect, and overcome, them.

“Experience. Just not knowing that it’s not the 18th hole, I don’t need to press just to be smart. Also, I have a great caddie that does his homework, that walks the golf course, that’s how the greens are reactive, that you just kind of try to avoid the mistakes as much as possible,” Korda said on Saturday. “You’re gonna hit a bad shot here and there and you’re gonna find yourself in trouble, but trying to kind of stay away from the holes that kind of lead you to trouble. I think it’s the goal and be aggressive on a par-5 that you hit a good tee shot. It’s all about placement out here because it is a really hard golf course.”

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The post Nelly Korda reclaims No. 1 spot in world ranking after Chevron win appeared first on Golf.

The post Nelly Korda reclaims No. 1 spot in world ranking after Chevron win appeared first on Golf.

It’s official: Nelly Korda is back on top. Following her dominating victory at the Chevron Championship at Memorial Park in Houston on Sunday, Korda has regained the top spot in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Korda leap-frogged Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul, who had been No. 1 since early August of last year. Thitikul then won twice in the fall of 2025, including the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. She also added a victory at the Honda LPGA Thailand two months ago.

But Thitikul has failed to top 10 in the five events since her last win, which includes a rare missed cut at the Chevron.

Korda, 27, dominated the tour in 2024, winning seven times to cement her place as world No. 1. But after a surprising 2025 that saw her go winless, she relinquished the top spot to Thitikul last summer.

Korda never fell lower than No. 2 in the world, and she opened this season on a tear. After winning a weather-shortened season-opener at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, she was the runner-up in her next three starts leading up to the Chevron, where she won the third major of her career.

“Honestly, if [last year] taught me anything, it’s to just focus on myself, not listen to the outside noise,” Korda said. “Every year will be so different. I love the game of golf and I feel like that really helps. I love competing. If you come out here and you’re just focusing on a paycheck, then I feel like the times when you’re not playing well and you get down on yourself.”

With her win Sunday, Korda becomes the first American player to win three majors since Meg Mallon in 2000.

“[Majors are] the reason why I started playing this game,” Korda said. “I walked on to the range at the U.S. Women’s Open in 2013 at Sebonack and that’s where I realized, like, this is what I want to do. You’re playing against the best players in the world, playing a challenging golf course that testing every part of your game, but it’s also testing you mentally. You get on to the back nine of a major on a Sunday and there is no bigger rush of emotions that you feel. Like right now the last thing I want to do is eat. I just feel sick to my stomach because there is a major rush of emotion.

“Even growing up watching my sister compete, the only time I watched her compete was in major championships,” she continued. “Then also like the people that you looked up to like Tiger — my sister refers to our generation being Tiger’s kids — and seeing the amazing shots and how much it means to every person that has come before us to win a major and then how much that has inspired other generations to keep wanting to come out and grind.”

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The post Nelly Korda’s clubs: What’s in her Chevron Championship-winning bag appeared first on Golf.

The post Nelly Korda’s clubs: What’s in her Chevron Championship-winning bag appeared first on Golf.

Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship for the second time in three years Sunday for her third major title and to return to the top of the Rolex Women’s Rankings.

Her victory means that both of the year’s first major winners on the men’s and women’s tours earned the victory using a TaylorMade Qi4D driver.

Korda switched into a Qi4D driver this offseason, breaking a streak of using TaylorMade’s “Max” model driver since signing with the company in 2023 and going back to her days at Titleist playing their “1” models. She also made a shaft switch to Graphite Design’s Tour AD-FI driver shaft.

The victory came with Korda’s TaylorMade NK Proto putter, which she switched to last fall, that mimics the shape of the previous putter she used to win six of her seven victories in 2024.

Keep reading below for all of Korda’s WITB specs.

Nelly Korda’s winning WITB at the 2026 Masters

Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D 10.5˚
FCT Sleeve: Upright 1 Towards Higher
Front weights: 5g Heel, 3g Toe
Back weights: 3g Heel, 3g Toe
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD FI 6-S
Length: 44 3/4’’ CUT

TaylorMade Qi4D Custom Driver

SHAPED FOR SPEED The re-engineered head profile increases ball speed thanks to improved aerodynamics developed through advanced simulations. FACE FOR DISTANCE 60x Carbon Twist Face™ is a technological cornerstone that provides weight savings, incredible ball speed and more consistency vs. a titanium face. ADJUSTABLE PERFORMANCE 4° loft sleeve can be used to adjust loft, lie and face angle for optimized flight. TOUR PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES New and improved cut-through Speed Pocket™ protects ball speed and reduces spin on low-face strikes. Advanced CAD modeling creates a design with a clean and powerful sound, a foundation of TaylorMade driver performance. Multi-Material Construction allows engineers to strategically place mass in areas of the head where it maximizes performance, speed, and stability.

$649.99 from Fairway Jockey

View Product

Graphite Design Tour AD FI Wood Shaft

The Graphite Design Tour AD FI (Flight Intelligence) wood shaft brings a fresh evolution to the Tour AD lineup, engineered with precision in Graphite Design’s Japan factory. Designed to deliver mid-level launch with low to mid-low spin, it incorporates advanced materials like AD Shield, Torayca M40X, and T1100G, along with the brand’s unique Tornado Tip Technology. Visually, the shaft stands out with a refined butt-section weave, an updated Tour AD logo, and a bold teal-to-black gradient finish at the tip—blending high performance with a sleek, modern look.

$379.00 from Fairway Jockey

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3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2
Actual loft: 15˚
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7-S

7-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2
Actual loft: 21˚
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7-S

TaylorMade Qi4D Custom Fairway Wood

PROVEN RECIPE TaylorMade Fairways have dominated on Tour for over a decade because of their unique performance recipe, which enables maximum distance and versatility. The Qi4D fairway is designed for golfers who want the most advanced technology while still prioritizing versatility and control with amazing distance. ADJUSTABLE PERFORMANCE Utilizing a single Trajectory Adjustment System weight (8g x1) provides the golfer a more mass efficient way to adjust flight, spin and swing weight. 4° loft sleeve can be used to adjust loft, lie and face angle for optimized flight and is available in all lofts. REFINED ATTRIBUTES, BIG CHANGES Engineers conducted an objective analysis of all the performance attributes and discovered new methods to enhance performance and confidence. Sit points, lie angles, address views, and center of gravity locations were all updated based on Tour feedback and the expertise of leading fitters worldwide, ensuring the optimal fairway across skill levels. TOUR-PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES New and improved cut-through Speed Pocket™ protects ball speed and reduces spin on low-face strikes. Advanced CAD modeling creates a design with a clean and powerful sound, a foundation for TaylorMade fairway performance. Twist Face™ features corrective face curvature designed to provide straighter shots on mishits. Multi-Material Construction allows engineers to maximize performance by increasing discretionary weight.

$379.99 from Fairway Jockey

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Hybrid: Ping G425
Loft: 26˚ @ 25˚
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue HB 7 S

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (5), P7CB (5-PW)
Shaft: AeroTech SteelFiber i80 cw
Length: 37″ 7-iron
Loft Progression: 26/30/34/38/42/46
Lie Progression: 64/64.5/65/65.5/66/66

TaylorMade P7CB Custom Irons

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Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50), MG Proto (54), Titleist Vokey SM11 (60)
Lofts/Grinds: 50-SB, 54-HB, 60.04T
Shafts: AeroTech SteelFiber i95 cw

TaylorMade Milled Grind 5 Custom Wedge

FORGED FEEL Incredible feel is a must for having a great wedge game. MG5 has been forged from soft carbon steel and designed with geometry to provide excellent feel with great feedback. MAXIMUM SPIN MG5 uses all-new, more aggressive grooves designed to maximize spin. Saw-milled grooves produce tighter tolerances allowing engineers to design steeper walls and sharper radii intended to maximize spin in both dry and damp conditions. PERFORMANCE IN ALL CONDITIONS RAW face with Spin Tread technology channels away moisture to help retain spin. The same way that tire treads help your car stay connected to the road, laser-etched channels redirect water at impact and creates more friction between the club face and golf ball to maintain spin in wet conditions. CRAFTSMANSHIP MEETS CONSISTENCY  Crafted by hand and then milled to perfection. Each wedge and sole grind are precision-milled to eliminate the natural human error that comes with hand polishing. Our grinds deliver unmatched consistency and craftsmanship that players can count on every time. CHARCOAL FINISH MG5 debuts a sleek, sophisticated charcoal finish that reduces glare and enhances its aesthetic appeal in the bag.

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Putter: TaylorMade NK Proto

Ball: TaylorMade 2026 TP5x (Tour Version)

TaylorMade 2026 TP5x Golf Balls

Built on the success of the best Team TaylorMade athletes in the world, TP5x is designed to deliver unparalleled low spin and distance off the tee and world-class feel and control where you need it most around the green. Microcoating No two golf balls are the same, but the all-new TP5x sets out to solve an invisible problem through our revolutionary microcoating finish process. Uneven paint and excess pooling in the dimples can compromise distance and accuracy. Microcoating uses precision application technology to ensure uniform coverage across the ball’s entire surface. Click on the video for a deep dive. Thinner Than a Human Hair Microcoating is thinner than a human hair and delivers measurable performance advantages: more consistent ball flight, optimized distance, and tight left-to-right dispersion. Tour-Level Speed The reengineered Speed Wrapped Core in TP5x increases the coefficient of restitution (COR) for exceptional ball speed at the top end of your bag.

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Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 58 Round

Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord Grip

OUR VAN ACCESS: The winningest cord grip on Tour. The Tour Velvet Cord Midsize was trusted to win two majors in 2019. It features Brushed Cotton Cord Technology (BCT) – a woven cotton twill fiber material that increases traction and performance in all weather conditions.

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Want to overhaul your bag for 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

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The post Tour Confidential: Is the Summer of Nelly upon us? Has Furyk learned from Ryder Cup? appeared first on Golf.

The post Tour Confidential: Is the Summer of Nelly upon us? Has Furyk learned from Ryder Cup? appeared first on Golf.

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Nelly Korda’s second turn of dominance, the new Ryder Cup captain and its exorbitant ticket prices.

Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship, blitzing the field to win by five and claim the first major of the year, the third of her career. Two years ago she won seven times, but followed it up with a winless 2025. This year she has already won twice. Is a summer of Nelly Korda dominance ahead? What’s changed?

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): It is the hardest thing in golf to win a tournament. And yet, it is very, very hard to lose golf tournaments when you’re playing the way Nelly did this weekend. On the front nine on Sunday with a five-shot lead, feeling all of the pressure in the world to close it out, Korda made seven pars and two birdies. There’s a maturity in that kind of sensibility on Sunday at a major, and I think it explains a lot of her success in Houston.

Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): I think Nelly has settled in to a comfortable spot with what she wants to be to the game. When she last went on a run like this, there was immense pressure for her to carry the entire women’s game. To try and live up to cross-sport comparisons to Caitlin Clark. I’m not sure Korda ever really felt great about all of that. 

To answer the question, I hope a Summer of Nelly is upon us. She is unquestionably one of the best golfers we’ve ever seen, which just makes me want to see what she’s capable of achieving at her very peak. This comes the same week that DataGolf launched its women’s rankings. I want to see her take off and plant her flag with one of the best seasons of all-time. And then, if I can be greedy, I want to see Jeeno Thitikul go toe-to-toe with her. 

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@schrock_and_awe): Here in Houston all week, it was very apparent that Nelly Korda is at peace with who she is, and her maturity on the golf course stems from both personal happiness and a decision that she and caddie Jason McDede made to approach things differently after 2025. She’s made a concerted effort to play smart golf, not take on unnecessary risk and not let negativity, both internal and external, seep into her game. McDede told me that the loss last year at Erin Hills was really the catalyst for the changes she made to her mentality, and I think there’s reason to believe she could rip off several more wins this year. Every part of her game is firing, and her decision to hire a “no nonsense” putting coach has helped address what was the Achilles’ heel of her game. The hype train leading into Riviera will be out of control. 

A pre-tournament talking point at the Chevron was if the winner’s leap into Poppie’s Pond should continue with the tournament now taking place at a new venue, Memorial Park. A small pool was built as a placeholder this year (which Korda splashed into) until a more natural water feature is built by Tom Doak before next year. Should the winner’s leap have stayed put at the previous venue, Carlton Woods? Is it gimmicky? Or is it a fun tradition and important to preserve?

News

Curious addition at LPGA's first major has deeper meaning

By: Josh Schrock

Colgan: Golf people get so worked up about the dumbest things. I’d argue sports are fun precisely because of our stupidly blind adherence to totally outrageous (and often watered down) traditions like the winner’s leap. We’re investing emotionally into someone’s capacity to put a white ball into a hole in the ground in fewer lashes than their opponent. That’s as dumb as it gets. If the winner wants to jump into a kiddie pool or battle an orangutan after, we should be unmoved. 

Zak: If they battle an orangutan, I’m gonna be moved by that. Sorry, James. But I actually kinda dig this tradition, mostly because … who cares? Bring your hate elsewhere. There are more important — and way more gimmicky — things to get angry about. Nelly’s team seemed to enjoy the leap. 

Schrock: Completely agree. What was all the fuss about? The players want to keep tradition alive and the LPGA created a stopgap move to allow it. There’s way too much hand-wringing about dumb things in golf. This was much ado about nothing. Korda was one of the players who wanted the tradition kept alive. She dove in. We move on. It’s sports. Go take a lap if you’re so aggrieved, maybe in a pool. 

The PGA of America announced Jim Furyk as its Ryder Cup captain for 2027, and he’ll become just the fourth repeat captain in the modern era. While we already discussed the news earlier this week, Furyk has had plenty of experience since his 2018 loss (as Ryder Cup assistant and Presidents Cup captain). What do you think his biggest learning from Paris has been that will be most beneficial next year?

Colgan: Don’t allow yourself to start the Cup by getting punched in the face. A fast start is the biggest asset for any road team, and it’s especially true at the Cup.

News

Is Jim Furyk the right pick as Ryder Cup captain? Our writers discuss

By: Sean Zak, James Colgan, Dylan Dethier

Zak: Here’s what the biggest learning needs to be: pairings decided weeks in advance. Perhaps months in advance. The Euros have trotted out pairs they knew would be playing together back in June. It seems like a strategy that keeps working. 

Schrock: There has to be a better strategy with the pairings than letting guys play with who they want to and flying by the seat of their pants as the competition goes on. The U.S. has the talent but they are lacking in every other area. 

Speaking of the Ryder Cup, tickets for 2027 in Ireland were recently announced as $585, which is more than double the cost of the last European Ryder Cup (in Rome in 2023). It also comes a year after $750 tickets caused an uproar at Bethpage. The PGA of America said then it’s a “Tier 1” sporting event and priced accordingly. What say you? Is it good for golf that prices (and demand) for Ryder Cup tickets are soaring? Or outrageous that it’s boxing out certain fans?

Colgan: Oh, it’s totally pathetic and completely antithetical to the spirit of an exhibition meant to celebrate golf’s best virtues. If the Euros don’t ask for payment to play in the Cup after the latest ticket news, they’re being naive. 

Zak: So is this price…Tier 2? Or is it still Tier 1, but in Ireland? I feel sad for those locals who have had this event circled on their calendars for years — after a very rich businessman won the bid to bring a now impossibly rich event to his very expensive resort. There’s a long tail of benefits that follow the Ryder Cup and make it worth everyone’s cause, but a lot of it now starts with fans paying a ton on the front end. It feels changed.

Schrock: Completely outrageous. Ticket prices for everything have unnecessarily gone through the roof, but for an exhibition match for a sport that is supposed to be about egalitarianism, this is pretty brutal. 

It’s official — for the first time in nearly six decades, the PGA Tour will not stop in Hawaii during the 2027 season, a domino of the forthcoming schedule change. Will you miss Hawaii? And what was your favorite moment during the Tour’s time in The Aloha State? 

Colgan: I’ll miss Hawaii. The golf course was fun and distinct, and the vibes were aspirational in a way few events on the golf calendar are. In a lot of ways, it feels like this is the moment we’ll look back upon as the Tour’s defining shift toward commerce in the mid-2020s. Not a bad thing, but a thing worth noting!

Zak: It’s okay to miss Hawaii as a season-starter and also know it was not an economically viable tournament. We live in an era of sports that will squeeze plenty of Things We Like out and replace them with Things We Still Like But Are Better Funded. It is what it is. This is a strictly commercial move and I think we’ll look back on it in five years in a totally accepting way. That said, the Tiger-Ernie battle from 2000 was one of the best mano a mano golf moments we’ve ever had.

Schrock: I’ll miss Hawaii for sure. Kapalua was a great course and it gave everyone buried in snow in the northeast an escape. That being said, I completely understand why the decision was made from a financial standpoint. Agree, this decision feels like a notable moment in the PGA Tour’s for-profit journey.

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The post Nelly Korda conquered herself to win the Chevron Championship appeared first on Golf.

HOUSTON — Nelly Korda was a mess inside. She had been all day. When she calmly rolled in the final putt of a dominant week that ended in her third major title, the world’s best player lifted her arms and could’ve floated away into the Houston sky.

A weight had been lifted.

But Nelly Korda freed herself and won the Chevron Championship long before she dismantled Memorial Park this week.

Last year was brutally hard on Korda and her team, from caddie Jason McDede on down. Korda played well, and the stats showed she wasn’t far off from the seven-win season of 2024. But the trophies never came. Only questions from reporters wondering when Nelly Korda would be Nelly Korda again — not statistically, but in the only stat that matters: wins.

“Everyone would be like, you know, your stats are great, better than last year, but you have zero trophies under your name this year. I’m like, I see that, yes,” Korda said Sunday, wearing a celebratory Chevron bathrobe. “It wears on you because that’s what you’re working for. … Sometimes you see the stats are better last year than [2024] and you’re like, well, I have zero trophies under my name.”

Then came the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills. Korda played her best golf of the entire season, but some missed putts and a poor shot into the 18th green saw her come up short of Maja Stark. Korda left Wisconsin heartbroken. That loss perfectly encapsulated the season that would unfold, where she played good golf but not consistently enough to win. But it also led her to Sunday.

“Last year, the U.S. Open hurt,” McDede told GOLF.com on Memorial Park’s 18th green Sunday. “But everything happens for a reason, right? If that doesn’t happen, maybe we’re not here right now.”

That final day in Wisconsin was the catalyst for the frustration that bubbled over on the golf course during the summer and fall. Negativity filled her thoughts on the golf course. When 2025 finally concluded, Korda knew something needed to change — herself.

“You’re like, ‘Okay, I don’t want to reinvent the wheel. I don’t want to do anything crazy. But I do want to get better. So what am I going to do better?'” Korda said. “The first thing was I was getting frustrated last year on the golf course, and I started overanalyzing everything, and I started overthinking, and then that was paralyzing me. I told myself I don’t ever want to feel like that on a golf course.”

Korda and McDede sat down to discuss a new approach, one focused on positivity and belief in the world-class game she’s been blessed with. Play smart, don’t take on too much risk, capitalize on your opportunities and, most importantly, shrug off the bad breaks. Exhale and be Nelly Korda. Stop thinking so much and just do. Be free.

“I think she’s letting things roll off of her golf game a little easier,” McDede said. “At times, before we tried to be really perfect. When you’re a great player, you want to be perfect on every shot. At times, that can be a double-edged sword. I think we are accepting mistakes a little bit better. That’s not the last hole of the day or the tournament. Just trying to take it shot by shot and play 72 and see what happens.”

“Sometimes, there is just a power in letting go,” Korda said.

There were moments this week where she had to be reminded of that. Korda entered the weekend with a record six-shot lead and had to toe the line between offense and defense.

“That’s not Nelly golf,” she said Sunday night.

She missed two short putts on Saturday, and McDede had seen her start to revert to her old self. “That’s human nature,” he said. Korda admits that, even though her lead never shrunk below four, it felt smaller in her mind at times. That’s when she had to “get back in the bubble.”

“Probably from me,” Korda said, when asked who her biggest opponent was this weekend. “It was just when I missed a short putt, and I started doubting myself … I want to go out and play golf. Whatever happens, if I jump into that pond, if I have the trophy in my hands at the end of the day, then great. I gave it 100%. If I don’t, then I have next week.”

Ask McDede, and he’ll tell you that Nelly Korda hasn’t changed much as a player. She’s a little longer, but the talent hasn’t changed. But she is “happier” and “maturing” as a player and person. As McDede and Team Korda watched Nelly polish off an emphatic major win, they saw a glimpse into their future.

“I think she’s just a happy person,” McDede said. “Her life is coming together. She’s maturing. She’s getting into her late 20s. Her life is starting to have a direct path with who she’s going to marry. We are all the same people. We are all comfortable. We’ve been around each other for so long that we have little lulls and stretches where we didn’t get what we want, we know we can do it together.”

Entering the final round with a five-shot lead, Korda knew that she had to play conservatively and make the chasers try and catch her. If she played smart golf, they’d have to do something special to track her down. That was easier said than done for a typically agressive player who likes to fire at pins and take on trouble. But with McDede helping guide, Korda stuck to her game plan. She unleashed a classic Nelly golf shot — a 50-degree wedge to inches for a tap-in birdie at 13 — and then pulled back and played it safe, laying up on the par-5 16th.

In the past, it would’ve been hard for Korda to rein herself in. But her maturation as a player and a person allowed her to calm her mind and stick to the process.

“Honestly, if it’s taught me anything, it’s to just focus on myself, not listen to the outside noise,” Korda said after her win. “I would say it was a very big part of why I’m sitting next to the trophy.”

Korda’s worst drive of the day came on her final hole. With a five-shot lead, Korda lost her tee ball into the left rough, and it sat down in a gnarly patch of grass where a television tripod had previously stood. “Of course, this is where my worst drive of the day lands,” Korda told McDede. She gauged it out and sent it into the thick collar by the bunker. She chipped up and faced a 10-foot putt to finish her climb back.

She had been in knots all day with major championship anxiety, but at that point, Korda had already done the hard part.

All that was left was to let go.

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The post Nelly Korda’s Chevron Championship chase faces 2 compelling conclusions appeared first on Golf.

The post Nelly Korda’s Chevron Championship chase faces 2 compelling conclusions appeared first on Golf.

HOUSTON — Nelly Korda has been free and easy all week. With all facets of her game firing, the World No. 2 ripped apart Memorial Park en route to a six-shot lead at the 36-hole mark of the year’s first major.

Korda’s lead grew to eight early on Saturday, and it looked like a lengthy coronation was in store at the Chevron Championship. But as often happens at major championships, the heat rises — literally in Texas — and the pressure mounts as the gravity of the moment comes into focus. Korda made a sloppy bogey at the par-5 eighth and then missed short putts on 13 and 14 — one for birdie and one for par — that left her stewing as she marched to the 15th tee.

The World No. 2 striped her tee shot right over the flag and flashed a smile, but her longtime caddie, Jason McDede, was already giving Korda an earful as they walked to the green.

“He was just telling me to stay in it,” Korda said after her round. “Got a lot more golf left to play.”

Korda changed her mentality after a winless 2025. Her focus has been on staying positive and believing that no matter what spot she finds herself in, her game will win the day. That’s much easier to do early in the week when your lead is growing, and your game feels unstoppable. But when the major championship pressure truly arrives on the weekend, your lead is shrinking and your putter failing you, that requires mental strength. Korda said she felt her focus wavering as she mis-hit key putts on the back nine, and she needed to recalibrate so it didn’t bleed into other parts of her game. Her lead had shrunk from eight to six to five, and the putts that had been ticketed for the center of the cup all week were diving left and right as they approached the cup.

“I’m learning so much about myself,” Korda said, noting that she just wanted to keep giving herself birdies looks even if they didn’t fall. “I was still trying my best, and at the end of the day, that’s all I can control. I want to try my best and execute to the best of my ability. I can’t be frustrated with anything but that.”

Nelly Korda understands what Sunday means. For all of her world-beating talent, Korda has just two major titles to her name. It’s a stunning number for someone who has been far and away the best player in women’s golf for the last few years. Korda won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2021 and added the Chevron in 2024. But her last few major memories, when she has truly been in contention, have left her only with scars. She stumbled in the final round of the 2024 AIG Women’s Open and lost to Lydia Ko, and was unable to run down Maja Stark at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open.

She’s still waiting on No. 3.

“This is why we do it, right, to be in contention on major championship Sunday?” Korda said on Saturday after shooting a third-round 2-under 70.

The gravity of Sunday is clear for Nelly Korda. She spent 41 holes tearing this course apart while building a massive lead. That leaves her with only two potential outcomes.

Door No. 1 sees Nelly Korda put the pedal down and run through the finish line, announcing that, after a frustrating season, she’s back as the major killer and unquestioned best player in the world. That would launch her back to No. 1 in the world and set off a hype train leading toward the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera, the one major that Korda holds above all else. Door No. 2 has Nelly Korda stumble on Sunday, watching a massive lead evaporate in what would be a crushing collapse.

“I’m just going to focus on myself, kind of work on my process, really dial into that, make sure that I have tunnel vision, and not really focus on the exterior noise,” Korda said of how she’ll approach a massive Sunday.

The correlations between Korda’s Chevron week and Rory McIlroy’s Masters week have been notable. Both fan favorites and tour megastars built tournament record six-shot leads over 36 holes. McIlroy watched his disappear by the 13th hole on that Saturday at Augusta National. Afterward, he went to the range and beat balls, trying to fix what ailed his swing. Korda said she didn’t watch any of McIlroy’s Masters, and how he let everyone else back into it before triumphing on Sunday. While her lead didn’t dissolve on Saturday as McIlroy’s did, Korda kept her media session short Saturday and went to do the same as the two-time Masters champion. She immediately entered the practice putting green and dropped three balls with McDede watching every stroke. She moved around the cup, alternating from five feet to eight feet to 10 and longer. Each time she hit a putt, she’d look back at McDede, who was crouched watching her stroke and the contact, for feedback. A brief discussion about her motion ensued after a few long-range putts came up short. Then, Korda rolled a few more in the center and called it a day.

“At the end of the day, it’s a clean slate,” Korda said of Sunday. “I’m starting the day at zero.”

But on major championship Sundays, zero is miles away from the goal — from elation or heartbreak.

Nelly Korda has dominated this week in Houston. On Sunday, she’ll either become a three-time major champion or leave with major championship trauma that won’t be easy to flush.

Everything or devastation.

The post Nelly Korda’s Chevron Championship chase faces 2 compelling conclusions appeared first on Golf.