With each week, the LPGA Tour season increasingly resembles 2024, when Nelly Korda dominated with seven wins to establish herself as World No.1.
Korda has finished no lower than runner-up in each of her six starts this year, returning to the top of the world rankings in the process, while her win in Mexico is her third of the season.
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It has also given her back-to-back wins for the first time in two years following her victory by five at last week’s Chevron Championship.
At Mayakoba, Korda was almost as dominant, cruising to the title by four, with Arpichaya Yubol her closest rival.
Korda began the final round with a lead of three and never looked like relinquishing it.
After four consecutive pars to start her round, Korda came to life with an eagle at the par-5 fifth, before back-to-back birdies built her lead to six over playing partner Yubol.
Arpichaya Yubol closed the gap to four at the end
(Image credit: Getty Images)
That was an advantage she maintained at the turn, with the likes of Yu Liu and Brianna Do also hoping for an improbable slip from the leader to bring them back into the conversation.
It didn’t come, although Yubol briefly reduced the deficit to five with a birdie at the 14th. However, any hopes she had of keeping up the pressure for her maiden LPGA Tour win were dashed at the 16th with a double bogey to give Korda a seven-shot cushion.
With Korda so dominant, she didn’t need to chase anything, as exemplified by a run of pars from the eighth to the 17th.
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At the 18th, Korda made her first bogey of the day, but still finished in style, rolling in a long putt to card a 69, with Yubol making back-to-back birdies to finish second, four behind the winner.
Nelly Korda beat Arpichaya Yubol by four
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Korda’s recent performances suggest she’s not feeling any pressure at the moment, and she admitted afterwards she was enjoying golf, saying: “I’m just enjoying myself and I love the competition. I love traveling to places like Mexico, all over the world. I’m just having fun, yeah.”
Not only does Korda’s latest win give her prize money of $375,000, it also means a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame is coming into view. Her latest victory puts her on 23 points, with 27 the threshold to take her place among the game’s greats.
With the way the 27-year-old has started the season, that looks likely to come sooner rather than later.