What Nelly Korda did while shooting 65 at the Chevron Championship should seriously excite her fans

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Nelly Korda made an exceptional start to the Chevron Championship on Thursday, firing a round of seven-under-par 65.

Korda leads by two shots from Somi Lee and Patty Tavatanakit after the opening round of the Chevron Championship.

After a winless 2025, the 27-year-old from Bradenton, Florida, already has one victory to her name in four starts on the LPGA Tour this year.

Korda failing to secure a single LPGA Tour victory last year came as a huge surprise to everyone involved in the game.

That obviously motivated her to work even harder and she has come out firing in 2026.

Winning the first major of the year would be an ideal way for her to reestablish herself as the world’s best female golfer.

And she has made a superb start on her quest to do just that.

What Nelly Korda did on day one of the Chevron Championship should excite her fans

Korda will be desperate to win her third major championship this week.

She has won the Chevron before, back in 2024, and the truth of the matter is that the golf course at Memorial Park is far more suited to her game than The Club at Carlton Woods or Mission Hills ever was.

If she plays to her full potential over the next three days, she will surely win the Chevron Championship for the second time.

And there was one specific part of Korda’s game in Houston on Thursday that should get her fans really excited heading into the final three rounds of the tournament.

Korda took just 24 putts during her opening round 65 at Memorial Park.

She looks in total control with the putter in her hand and her stroke was silky smooth.

Putting has been the part of Korda’s game which has historically held her back, relatively speaking.

However, if her performance on the greens on Thursday at Memorial Park was anything to go by, her rivals should be seriously concerned.

Nelly Korda’s putting stats

Korda ranked first in putting on day one at the Chevron Championship.

That represents quite the contrast from her performances on the greens over the past few seasons on the LPGA Tour.

Throughout the 2025 LPGA Tour season, Korda was ranked 19th on the greens. Not bad by any means, but obviously there was still plenty of room for improvement.

In 2024 and 2023 she was ranked 34th and 49th respectively in strokes gained putting.

It is something that hasn’t always come as naturally to her as her long game has.

Korda has been making incremental gains on the greens for three years now and if she can find a way of improving yet again in 2026, it could be a year to remember for her.

The 27-year-old showed really positive signs with the putter during her opening round at the Chevron Championship and another year of sheer and utter domination could lie ahead for Nelly.