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.”
