Korda aiming to make it five wins out of five at Chevron Championship

You just never know what’s around the corner in this flummoxing, fickle old game that never fails to fascinate.

There are days, for instance, when you’ll duff it, top it, hook it, slice it and shank it and other days when you just can’t get into a groove at all.

Nelly Korda has certainly got going this season. The 25-year-old has arrived at this week’s Chevron Championship, the opening major in the women’s scene, on the kind of wave that could inspire a cheery little ditty from the Beach Boys.

Korda tees-up at The Woodlands club today aiming to become just the third player, after Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam, to win five LPGA Tour titles in a row.

“But you never take these weeks for granted,” she said of her winning streak. Korda knows that what those golfing gods giveth, they also taketh away.

“In 2021, I went on a run,” she said of a glorious period of prosperity that brought four tour wins, including a maiden major, and an Olympic gold medal. “Then in 2022 and 2023, golf really humbled me,” she added of a period of toil and trouble that included a blood clot in her arm.

“In sports, there are ups and downs. Ever athlete goes through the rollercoaster, and that is what makes the sport so great. With the run I've been on, maybe there are more eyes on me but I know how fast something can be taken away.”

Given her recent purple patch, the hype surrounding Korda this week is considerable. She continues to take it all in her stride, though.

“It’s an inspiration,” she said of all the hoopla about her possibly doing this, that and the other. “I'm hopefully inspiring the next generation and hopefully it promotes the game.”

When the celebrated, decorated Lopez reeled off five wins on the bounce back in 1978, her accomplishment thrust her onto the front pages of powerhouse publications like Sports Illustrated and the New York Times.

If Korda is in the hunt coming down the stretch on Sunday, it will be interesting to check in on coverage and TV viewing figures. In the grand scheme of sport, golf, both male and female, remains something of a niche pursuit.

Look at the utter fever, for example, surrounding basketball’s Caitlin Clark? What do you mean you’ve never heard of her?

Clark’s presence in the recent NCAA women’s basketball championship – she is the all-time leading points scorer in US college history – drew in a record-busting 18.9 million viewers.

Last Sunday’s Masters, won by the world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, was a mere 9.6 million in comparison and represented a 20 per cent drop on the previous year’s figure.

"I feel like we just need a stage," said Korda of her hopes that women’s golf can benefit from the tail wind that is gusting behind many other female sports.

“We need to be put on TV. I feel like when it's tape delay or anything like that, then that hurts our game. We need a stage where we can show up and perform and show people what we're all about.”

Last week at Augusta, Scheffler, on the back of two wins in his previous  three events, was the overwhelming Masters favourite and came out on top despite carrying a mighty hod of expectation on his shoulders.

Never too up, never too down, Scheffler remains the epitome of level-headed, golfing middle ground.

“I love his attitude out there, I just love the way he goes about his business,” said Korda who remains a pretty calm, composed customer herself.

“He wants to win every tournament he tees it up in. That's what every girl who’s out here competing wants to do too. You can get lost in the articles, lost in the expectations, but I think if you just stick to your true self, I feel like you can live in your own bubble.”

Will the Korda bubble burst over the next few days? Time will tell but in a stellar field – Aberdeen’s LPGA Tour winner Gemma Dryburgh flies the lone saltire – the Floridian is relishing the challenge.

The canny words of her dad, Petr, the former Australian Open tennis champion, keep her on an even keel. “He says just enjoy every second of it,” added Korda of faither’s simple pearls of wisdom. “Careers go by really fast and there are so many highs and lows. So just be grateful for it all.”