Nelly Korda has two majors. The third would change everything

American golfer Nelly Korda has aced the LPGA Tour this season.

The World No. 1 claimed the first two LPGA major championships of the year with wins at the Chevron Championship in April and the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this month, marking the third and fourth major titles of her career. Korda is chasing more history when she tees off at the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Thursday, June 25, at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota.

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Korda is looking to become the third woman and first in over a decade to win the first three majors of the year, joining Babe Zaharias (1950) and Inbee Park (2013). Korda would also earn the final two points needed to qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame with a victory this weekend.

When asked if she feels any extra pressure, Korda candidly said “not necessarily.”

“I have a very in the moment mindset this year, which I’m just trying to take towards the end of the year,” Korda said on Tuesday ahead the competition. “I’ve just told myself if I am lifting the trophy, that is obviously the main goal at the end of the week, but I’m going to prepare and I’m going to focus on my preparation and know that I’m a 100% confident in it and lean on that.”

Nelly Korda goes for third consecutive major win

Korda’s preparation has served her well so far this year.

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She secured a wire-to-wire victory at the 2026 Chevron Championship at Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston in April, finishing with a five-stroke lead over the nearest competitor to take home the top prize of $1.35 million.

Her win at the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open was a little more dramatic. Korda entered the final round at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, tied atop the leaderboard with South Korea’s Sei Young Kim at 6-under. She carded two birdies on hole No. 1 and No. 6 to take sole ownership of the lead at 8-under, but a bogey on hole No. 7 dropped her down the standings.

Korda carded a birdie on No. 17 to retake the lead, and despite facing a precarious situation on No. 18 — “Why did I leave myself such a long putt … I was like, ‘good Lord'” — she two-putted for par to win it all.

“That 14-year-old girl that stepped on the range at Sebonack in 2013, I mean her dream has just come true,” Korda said on June 7, while sitting next to the Harton S. Semple Trophy. “It’s really hard to put into words. This week was definitely a grind. I don’t even feel like I had my B game. I was just grinding out there and that’s what I guess major championships are all about.”

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Up next, the third of five majors on the LPGA Tour: The 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Korda, who previously won the PGA Championship in 2021, will face off against a stacked field that includes 12 past champions and the Top 100 players in the 2026 CME Global rankings.

Korda will tee off Thursday at 8:17 a.m. ET alongside former PGA champions Hannah Green and Sei Young Kim. Green won in 2019 at Hazeltine National Golf Club, the home of this year’s competition. Korda finished third. Kim won the tournament in 2020 and finished in 20th place on the course in 2019.

Nelly Korda closing in on LPGA Hall of Fame

Korda is competing for more than a trophy. If she’s able to win the fifth major of her career, Korda will have played her way into the LPGA Hall of Fame at the age of 27.

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To qualify for the LPGA Hall of Fame, players must accumulate 27 points by way of winning LPGA tournaments (one point), season-ending awards (one point), an Olympic gold medal (one point) or a major (two points).

“It’s an awesome way to decide who’s the best because the facts speak for themselves and meritocracy is arguably the best way to decide who’s in and who’s out,” LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler said. “From time to time there’s controversy because people have to decide who fits the bill. It doesn’t work that way at the LPGA.”

Korda currently sits at 25 LPGA Hall of Fame points, not that she knows. The 2020 Olympic champion prefers it that way, and asked media members not to tell her how many points she needed. (The answer is two points.)

“It would be something that would be an absolute amazing accomplishment to be alongside some of the best that have ever played in this game on the LPGA tour,” Korda said on Wednesday. “But I’ve never really truly looked at it, if I’m being honest. I don’t even know how many points you need to get into it.”

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Korda continued: “I know I’m close … but I do not know much more about that. I kind like to be oblivious about it in that way. I know a lot about the stuff that I want to know about, but I don’t want to put extra pressure on myself. … I feel like the game of golf is already hard enough and if I add more pressure on myself, then it’s going to be even harder.”

Record purse up for grabs

During the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Champions Dinner on Tuesday, Korda said the growth of the league was on full display as previous winners of the tournament compared paychecks over the years during an exclusive meal.

“We sit amongst each other and sometimes (winnings) get brought up,” Korda said. “Like, ‘Oh, how much did you win winning this tournament? How much did you win winning this tournament?’ To see the evolution of where the women’s game … was to what it is now, is quite incredible.”

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It pays to win now more than ever at the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The tournament is offering a record $13 million purse, the largest in women’s golf history.

“It is quite amazing to see the investment and in women’s sports, and we’re just really grateful for our partners to continuously raising the bar,” Korda said. “You see that across every sport. You see that in tennis. You’re seeing that right now in basketball too.”