Nelly Korda Opens With 70 at 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA, Major Bid Alive

Nelly Korda opened the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a 2-under 70 on Thursday at Hazeltine National, keeping her bid for a third straight major of the season alive despite a costly late double bogey. Korda was 4 under and rolling before one bad swing on the 16th, and she finished the day seven shots behind Round 1 leader Ina Yoon.

How one swing on the 16th cost Nelly Korda

Korda built her round the right way, making five birdies that included a run at the 11th, 13th, and 15th to reach 4 under and move inside the early top 10. Then came the par-4 16th, a tight hole with water guarding the left side and much of the green. Korda hit driver and hooked it into the creek, took a penalty drop, wedged on, and three-putted from 35 feet for a double bogey, her only double of the day.

Korda was candid about the mistake afterward, saying she overturned it and made too fast a swing while in between clubs. The double dropped her back to 2 under, turning a clean opening statement into a more ordinary number, though she still posted a score in red figures at a demanding major venue.

What three straight majors would mean for Nelly Korda

Korda arrived at Hazeltine having already won the Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open earlier in 2026, the first two majors of the women’s season. The KPMG Women’s PGA is the third major of the year, so a win this week would give her the first three majors of a single season, one of the rarest feats in the sport, accomplished only twice, by Inbee Park in 2013 and Babe Zaharias in 1950.

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The stakes go beyond the trophy. A victory would be Korda’s fifth career major, and the LPGA framed her week at Hazeltine as a Hall of Fame pursuit, with a fifth major a major step toward induction at age 27. That combination of history and hardware is why her bid is the headline storyline of the championship even as she trails.

For more on the run she is chasing, see our look at Nelly Korda‘s bid for three straight majors.

KPMG Women’s PGA leaderboard and Korda’s outlook

Ina Yoon set the pace with a bogey-free 9-under 63, a stellar opening round that built a two-shot cushion at the top and left Korda seven back at 2 under. Seven strokes is a real gap, but it is far from insurmountable over 54 holes at a major, especially for a player of Korda’s ceiling who was a swing or two from a much lower number on Thursday.

Korda came into the week as one of the betting favorites on the strength of her two-major season, and the buy-low case is straightforward. The double bogey inflated her score and likely nudged her live number a touch longer, yet her ball striking through 15 holes looked like the best player in the field. If the putter heats up and she trims the mistakes, she has the game to climb the board in a hurry.

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Is the KPMG Women’s PGA the third major of the women’s season?

Yes. The women’s major order in 2026 is the Chevron Championship, the U.S. Women’s Open, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the Evian Championship, and the AIG Women’s Open. Korda won the first two, so the KPMG is the third major and her chance to make it three in a row.

Who is the defending KPMG Women’s PGA champion?

Minjee Lee is the defending champion at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and is back in the field at Hazeltine this week trying to retain her title. Her defense is one of the subplots running alongside Korda’s history bid.

How big is the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA purse?

The 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is being played for a record 13 million dollars in prize money, the largest purse in the event’s history and among the richest in women’s golf.

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