All roads lead to Nelly Korda at the Chevron Championship, the first women’s Major of the season, now in its 53rd edition, held at The Club at Carlton Woods in Houston. It’s inevitable that the week turns into an all-against-Nelly affair. After all, the world’s Number One lands at this Major with four consecutive victories in her last four tournaments. She is, by far, the one to beat.
The top ten in the world and all the winners in 2024 from the LPGA Tour are meeting at this first major battle among all those who have to be in the world of women’s golf. Two Spaniards stand out, Carlota Ciganda, one of the candidates for victory, and Azahara Muñoz, who returns to the tournament after a three-year absence following her maternity leave.
The Chevron announced this Tuesday excellent news for women’s golf. The tournament’s prize purse has risen again and now stands at $7.9 million, another step in the extraordinary growth it has experienced since 2021, when the money to be distributed was $4.8 million. It’s still far from the $20 million offered by the Masters in Augusta last Sunday, but we continue to move in the right direction. In total, the five women’s Majors this year will distribute $45.4 million compared to $23 million in 2021.
On the other hand, the tournament will distribute a $10,000 cheque to all those who miss the cut, the same amount offered last week by the Masters and the highest amount ever awarded for this concept in women’s golf.
Carlota arrives at the Chevron ranked 30th in the world, after having achieved two top 5s in her last four tournaments. In this tournament, she also has two top 5s, in 2015 and 2019, and last year she finished in twelfth place. She feels comfortable on this course. This will be Carlota’s 46th consecutive Major, a fabulous record although still far from the 98 consecutive that Angela Stanford will add this week, an absolute record in women’s golf. The goal of the 46-year-old American veteran is to reach the 100 barrier, and there is no doubt that she will achieve it, as this week she is playing with a sponsor’s invitation. The absolute record for consecutive Majors played is held by Nicklaus with 154.
Korda’s main rivals are in the world’s top 10. They are Lilia Vu, the defending champion, Celine Boutier, Lydia Ko, who is one victory away from entering the Hall of Fame, Ruoning Yin, Minjee Lee or Jin Young Ko. We also have 38 of the world’s top 40.
The tournament kicks off this Thursday and will last four days with a cut after the second round with the top 65 and ties.
