HOUSTON ― After Hannah Green’s playoff victory in L.A., she boarded a plane at 1 a.m. to took a redeye to Houston. The plane landed in Texas just after 6 a.m. She went to the golf course to check in and pick up her courtesy car, they headed straight to the Airbnb to crash. After several hours of sleep, she texted her caddie, Dave Buhai, and told him she wasn’t going to practice later that afternoon as planned.
She’d get out there on Tuesday.
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“I was texting Karrie Webb and she was like, ‘I hope you’re taking the day off,’ ” said Green. “And I was like, ‘yes, I am.’”
Nelly Korda meets with the media ahead of the Chevron Championship.
This brutal redeye schedule is the same one Nelly Korda had last year, which is why Korda skipped the JM Eagle, one of the most lucrative events on tour, ahead of the 2026 Chevon Championship.
“It was a hard decision because Walter and Shirley Wang, they put on such an amazing event in L.A.,” said Korda, “But our finishing time is 6 p.m. … it’s also an hour from the airport in L.A., so getting here at proper time is really hard, almost impossible.”
Add in the terrible weather this time of year in Houston, and it’s even more of a gamble to play in L.A., particularly given that this year’s Memorial Park is a new venue.
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Korda arrived on Sunday night and was out first thing Monday morning for an 18-hole practice round. As Green landed in Texas, Korda was out warming out on the putting green.
Korda’s Monday practice round proved particularly useful after Tuesday’s pro-am day was a mess of weather delays and cancellations, and Wednesday calls for more stormy conditions.
Last year at the Chevron, Korda took Monday off from the golf course and then had her schedule thrown off with a lengthy weather delay on Wednesday, and then didn’t come back out to the course in the afternoon when it opened up. She looked shell-shocked after an opening 77, and then rallied to make the weekend, saying later that she regretted how her early-week schedule had unfolded.
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This year, by skipping L.A., she bought herself more time.
Korda hasn’t finished outside the top 2 all season, including a win at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Asked what she’s done well this year, she pointed to how she has taken care of her body and planned out her schedule.
After the win at the TOC, Korda took six weeks off from competitive golf, skipping the Asian swing, and then notched three runner-up finishes. After that stretch of seconds, Korda didn’t touch a club for four days. She instead spent time in the gym and made sure that her mind was refreshed before returning to the practice tee.
“If I’m rested, then I can give 100 percent to what I’m doing on the golf course,” she said. “I can put in extra hours instead of being out there and being like, OK, I finished this. Time to go to the next thing. Checking things off instead of working on my craft and being out there and losing myself in it.”
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Nelly Korda’s start to 2026 is historic
According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Korda is the third player since 1980 to begin a season with four or more finishes of either first or second.
The other two players? Karrie Webb in 2000 and Annika Sorenstam in 2001. Both went on to win the first major of the year.
A victory this week would give Korda a third career major title and her 22nd LPGA Hall of Fame point. (She needs 27 to get in.)
Korda won the Chevron Championship in 2024, capping off a run of five consecutive titles in an epic season that saw her win a total of seven events. On Monday, she took part in the annual champions dinner at Chevron, prepared by Michelin Star chef Thomas Keller, and enjoyed the company.
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“I was at the current player table where everyone is playing and active,” said Korda. “Then you have the legends at one table and they’re all screaming and having fun. And just listening to their stories, Pat Bradley spoke, Lydia spoke, there are so many stories that people share during those nights.
“What makes it so special is it stays in that room, and that’s what’s so fun about it.”
Nelly Korda of the United States jumps into the water after winning The Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods on April 21, 2024 in The Woodlands, Texas.
Past champions this week have the chance to drive a Bentley, but Korda went with the Cadillac Escalade, since she needed the room with sister Jessica and nephew Greyson in town this week. Every player in the field gets a courtesy Cadillac.
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As for Memorial Park, Korda called it a second-shot golf course and said much of what transpires over the rest of the week will depend on the weather and how it’s set up.
And if she wins, Korda confirmed that she’ll take a dip in the new plunge pool organizers dug out by the 18th green in an effort to keep the tour’s oldest tradition alive.
One plush robe is never enough.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Chevron Championship: Nelly Korda refreshed and ready for LPGA major
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