Nelly Korda is entering this week's 2026 Chevron Championship armed with strong form and a clear perspective on who helped shape her path to the top of the world golf rankings.
Ahead of the LPGA's first major of the season, Korda first pointed to her sister, Jessica Korda, as her earliest role model.
“My sister. Always," Korda said. “Yeah, I looked up to her from a really young age. I admired her. I wanted to be here since she joined the tour in 2011."
Korda also highlighted Tiger Woods as a defining influence on her generation.
“Obviously Tiger Woods, because my sister always says like, our generation — that’s kind of like Tiger’s kids," she said. “We watched him dominate the game at that time. I would say those two in golf, yeah.”
Her inspirations additionally extend beyond the green. Korda has previously praised tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, admiring Federer's composure and Nadal's competitive intensity — traits that mirror her own approach on the course.
Heading into the Chevron Championship, Korda also reflected on the realities of competing at the highest level and how quickly emotions can become public. She cited US tennis star Coco Gauff's 2026 Australian Open racket-smashing incident as an example of how closely athletes are watched.
"The thing that's different about athletes versus someone that's not is sometimes we're under a microscope, so you see everything," Korda said. “Coco Gauff, she was slamming her tennis racket. She thought it was in private, and you have video cameras there."
Korda continues to draw inspiration from athletes who came before her, while also navigating expectations that come with being one of the sport's top players.
How to Watch Nelly Korda at the 2026 Chevron Championship
As the Houston tournament gets underway, Korda enters the week with refreshed perspective and momentum, looking to secure her third LPGA major title.
The Chevron Championship runs through Sunday, April 26th, with live coverage on The Golf Channel.
US golf star Nelly Korda is taking notes from Sunday's tight Founders Cup finish, as she heads into this week's Ford Championship in Phoenix. There, she'll reunite with sister Jessica for the pair's first regular-season meeting since 2023.
Korda finished second on Sunday after missing a three-foot par putt on the 17th hole that cost her a chance at victory. She fell to Hyo Joo Kim by one shot, with Kim finishing at 16-under 272.
"Obviously, something like 17 stings, so it is what it is," Korda said after the round. "I felt great all day. I just kind of made one stupid mistake, and that was 17."
The world No. 2 mounted a comeback Sunday, birdieing six of eight holes to tie for the lead before the costly 3-putt derailed her momentum. While Kim also bogeyed the final hole, Korda could only manage par on 18.
Despite the disappointing finish, Korda remains focused on the positives as she prepares to kick off the 2026 Ford Championship on Thursday.
The tournament marks a special reunion for the family, as Jessica Korda makes her first regular-season LPGA Tour appearance since 2023. The 33-year-old is working her way back to the LPGA Tour, after rehabbing a back injury and spending two years on maternity leave.
The Ford Championship features a stacked 144-player field competing for a $2.25 million purse. Kim arrives as the defending champion after winning the event in 2025. World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul and other top-ranked players are also expected to compete.
Nelly won the 2024 Ford Championship as part of her historic four-tournament winning streak.
How to Watch the Korda Sisters at the 2026 Ford Championship
The Korda sisters hit the links in Phoenix on Thursday, with live Ford Championship coverage starting at 7 PM ET on The Golf Channel.
The Aramco Team Series came down to a battle of the captains, with Jessica Korda pulling ahead of Sophia Popov in a playoff under the lights at Glen Oaks Club, New York.
Korda’s two-hole playoff heroics on the 17th clinched her team, comprised of Karolin Lampert, Lina Boqvist, and amateur Alexandra O’Laughlin, the title after a hard-fought three rounds on the course.
Finishing 41 under par, Team Korda looked all but certain to lock up the top prize at the end of the third round, but a late surge from Team Popov forced a thrilling end to the first-ever Ladies European Tour golf event on US soil.
“It is so nice to share this win with a team. It’s such an individual sport so this is different and really cool,” said Korda, “Today we really came together, and it was one of our best days, especially on those last six holes. We were just having fun, hyping each other up.”
On how she pulled off the championship-sealing par under the floodlights, Korda says it came down to a shot in the dark.
“I’ve never played in the dark. I’ve never played under lights. It was so hard to see out there, so I really didn’t know how hard to hit it. I was just praying it was going to be somewhere up there.”
Team Korda weren’t the only winners on Saturday night, as Charley Hull took home the individual title, finishing a shot ahead of world No. 1 Nelly Korda.
“Because of the conditions, it was one of the best rounds of my life today, probably ever. The last hole was a tricky shot – it sat down a bit, but I played it perfectly,” said Hull. The Aramco championship marks Hull’s fourth career title and first since 2019.
The final leg of the Aramco Team Series will tee off in November at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.