Nelly Korda has not played a calm month of golf. Eight days after lifting the Chevron Championship trophy and reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking, the American backed it up with a four-shot win at the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, blowing past the tournament scoring record on the way to her third title of 2026.
Korda finished at 17 under par after closing rounds in which she eagled the par-five fifth on Sunday, made her 12th birdie of the week on the sixth and never gave the chasing pack so much as a sniff. Through 72 holes she made just one bogey — and even that was washed away within minutes.
"She's really taken control of this tournament," LPGA Tour winner Mel Reed said on the broadcast as Korda's lead grew to six shots on the back nine. "She just knows exactly what her body is capable of and she has the right team around her."
The numbers from Mayakoba spoke for themselves. The previous tournament record, set just last year, was 12 under. Korda surpassed it before the par-five eighth on Sunday and kept piling on. "Just on autopilot," Reed observed during one stretch of straight pars. "The rare time she makes a mistake, she covers it up. Feels like a good one for Nelly."
It is the 27-year-old's 18th career LPGA Tour title and continues a stretch of dominance unlike anything the women's tour has seen in years. According to LPGA statistics provided after the round, Korda is now the 26th American to win at least 18 times on tour. The last to reach that figure was Cristie Kerr in 2015, and Korda is the youngest American to do so since Nancy Lopez in 1980. The last player of any nationality to win an 18th LPGA event was Lydia Ko in 2020.
Korda is also the first American to win the week after capturing a major since Meg Mallon in 2014. The previous player to win the Chevron and then back it up the following week was Lorena Ochoa.
What makes the run more striking is that Korda was not, on paper, expected to play this event coming off the major. Pundits speculated she was satisfying the LPGA's commitment requirements; in the end she turned a tournament many top names skipped into a coronation.
The week was not entirely without surprises. On the back nine of her final round, Korda's tee shot at the 12th came to rest under a parked golf cart. After a free drop, she hit what commentators called a "tremendous little punch shot" to save par and keep the runaway in motion. The cart, one wag noted, may have actually helped her line.
There were similar small reminders that golf is rarely as easy as Korda made it look. A near-chunked tee shot at one par three only just cleared a front bunker before releasing onto the green; a wedge approach came off "a little bit hot" but to no consequence.
By the time she walked up the 18th, the only question was the margin. Korda ultimately won by four — a comfortable buffer that masked just how much daylight she had over the field for most of the week.
With three wins in six 2026 starts, a major title and the world No. 1 ranking back in hand, Korda heads into the heart of the LPGA season as the unmistakable player to beat.
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*Originally published on [Golf News Global](https://golfnews.global/article/nelly-korda-riviera-maya-open-back-to-back-18-lpga-wins-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
