Opinion: Nelly Korda showing flashes of Tiger dominance at 2026 Chevron Championship

Nelly Korda (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)

When you look of dominance at a major, one name instantly comes to mind. That is Tiger Woods. What one of the greatest golfers accomplished at the 1997 Masters (beat Tom Kite by 12 strokes), the 2000 United States Open in Pebble Beach (beat Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez by 15 strokes) and the 2000 British Open in St. Andrews (beat Els and Thomas Bjorn by eight strokes each) will forever be entrenched in my mind.

In today’s golf, we simply, if rarely see domination at a major. However, we are this week thanks to world number two Nelly Korda of Bradenton, Florida.

After 36 holes at the 2026 Chevron Championship in Houston, Texas, Korda is at -14, and currently leads her nearest competitor, Patty Tavatanakit of Bangkok, Thailand by six strokes. Tavatanakit is ranked 66th in the world at he moment, but is a major champion from the past as she won the 2021 ANA inspiration in Rancho Mirage, California (the major which moved to Houston in 2023) as a LPGA rookie five years ago. 

The 2026 Chevron Championship is all about Korda. Unless disaster strikes, she will easily win her third major of her career. Korda’s prior wins came at the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship and 2024 Chevron Championship.

On Friday, Korda extended her first round lead from two strokes to six strokes. For the second straight day, she shot a score of seven-under-par 65. Korda’s scorecard had eight birdies and one bogey. She birdied the first, third, ninth, 11th, 12th, 14th, 17th and 18th holes, and bogeyed the sixth hole.