Nelly Korda falls short of third straight major at Women’s PGA Championship

American Nelly Korda‘s pursuit of history fell short. 

The world No. 1 attempted to become the third woman to win the first three majors of the year at the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, but it was Haeran Ryu of South Korea who made history of her own.

Ryu finished 13-under at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, to win the tournament and clinch the first major of her career. Ryu, 25, became the first player to overcome a first-round deficit of at least 10 strokes since Carol Mann in 1964 and celebrated with a champagne shower on hole No. 18.

Korda finished seven strokes behind Ryu. She entered the fourth and final round tied for sixth place at 7-under on the tournament, but she continued to struggle on the greens. Korda had a pair of three-putts, finishing with one double-bogey, five birdies and four bogeys on the day. 

USA TODAY Sports provided live updates for the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship:

• 1. Haeran Ryu of South Korea: -13 
• 2. Ina Yoon of South Korea: -10 
• T3. Dewi Weber of the Netherlands: -10
• T3. Brooke Henderson of Canada: -10 
• T5. Auston Kim of the United States: -7 
• T5. Allisen Corpuz of the United States: -7 
• T5. Alison Lee of the United States: -7
• T8. A Lim Kim of South Korea: -6 
• T8. Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand: -6 
• T8. Nelly Korda of the United States: -6
• T8. Sei Young Kim of South Korea: -6 

Nelly Korda fell short of winning her third consecutive major of the year, but she still carded a Top 10 finish. She shot 1-over on Championship Sunday to finish at 6-under on the tournament.

Hole No. 16 at Hazeltine National Golf Club has been Nelly Korda’s kryptonite at the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She carded a double-bogey on the hole to fall to 6-under on the tournament. She also double-bogeyed the hole in the first round.

The World No. 1 picked up a birdie at hole No. 15 to improve to 8-under on the tournament.

Nelly Korda carded three birdies across four holes, but a three-putt at hole No. 12 killed her momentum. She finished with a bogey and dropped to 7-under on the tournament, now five strokes off the lead.

Nelly Korda is closing in on LPGA Hall of Fame. 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.

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).

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.”

The World No. 1 has turned it around. After carding three birdies and three bogeys on the first nine holes, Nelly Korda started the back nine with a birdie. She improves to 8-under on the tournament.

NELLY’S CHARGING ⚡️

She knocks this in for another birdie to get within two. pic.twitter.com/9WR2Sobpfv

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 28, 2026

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,” Nelly Korda said. “You see that across every sport. You see that in tennis. You’re seeing that right now in basketball too.”

Here are the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship prize money payouts:

1. $1,950,000
2. $1,169,107
3. $848,104
4. $656,075
5. $528,068
6. $432,053
7. $361,645
8. $316,843
9. $284,838
10. $259,232

Dewi Weber is atop the leaderboard after carding an eagle on hole No. 7.

Dewi Weber takes the lead with this EAGLE! #KPMGWomensPGApic.twitter.com/mYAMCvxqW2

— KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 28, 2026

Canadian Brooke Henderson had sole possession of the lead at 10-under on the tournament, but a bogey on hole No. 6 dropped her to 9-under. She’s tied atop the leaderboard with South Korea’s Haeran Ryu.

Haeran Ryu goes pin seeking! 🎯#KPMGWomensPGApic.twitter.com/N0iqgHgIrN

— KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 28, 2026

Nelly Korda’s second consecutive birdie on No. 8 has her only two shots off the lead.

Nelly Korda sets up a birdie with this dart! 🎯#KPMGWomensPGApic.twitter.com/LXyzWaRIrM

— KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 28, 2026

Nelly Korda gained some ground with a birdie on hole No. 7. She sits at 6-under on the tournament and is three strokes off the lead.

Korda missed the fairway on hole No. 5, landing in the left bunker on the Par-4, 385-yard hole. Her predicament went from bad to worse when she found herself in another bunker, this time in front of the green. Korda landed on the green on her third stroke, but couldn’t sink a putt to save par. She has carded back-to-back bogeys and drops to 5-under on the tournament.

Nelly Korda picked up her second bogey of the round on hole No. 4 after her putt to save par went far right.

Three-time major champion Lydia Ko was soaring after carding an eagle on hole No. 7 to go to 5-under on the tournament, but she wasn’t able to carry over that momentum. She picked up a bogey on hole No. 7 to drop to 4-under.

Lydia Ko with some magic on the green 🪄

She cards an eagle to get to -5 💪 pic.twitter.com/pcLvsJiePE

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 28, 2026

After picking up a bogey on hole No. 1, Korda bounced back with a birdie on hole No. 2 to improve to 7-under on the tournament.

Watch Nelly Korda birdie the 2nd hole.#KPMGWomensPGApic.twitter.com/glisqw5uHI

— KPMG Women’s PGA Championship (@KPMGWomensPGA) June 28, 2026

Korda landed in the bunker on the left side of the fairway on her first stroke on hole No. 1 but rebounded nicely and found the center of the green on the par-4, 412-yard hole. Korda couldn’t convert a lengthy birdie attempt or a short putt to save par amid windy conditions. The ball lipped around the rim of the cup for yet another three-putt. She drops to five-under on the tournament with the opening bogey. 

Despite a frustrating day on the putting greens, American Nelly Korda is within striking distance on the final day of the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Korda entered the fourth round of the Women’s PGA Championship tied for sixth place at 7-under on the tournament following a frustrating round that featured a pair of three-putts and two bogeys on Saturday.

“Just left a few putts out there,” Korda said after the third round, where she also carded three birdies. “The greens are pretty slick. They don’t have too much grass on them, so the short putts are pretty difficult. Putting in general, I mean, when it gets this windy, you have to calculate in the wind too, and a gust here and there. Sometimes you just aren’t as confident with your lines.” 

Korda is paired with fellow American Auston Kim and Australian Karis Davidson.

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.

“I’m always wanting to be in the hunt,” Korda added.

Nelly Korda was born on July 28, 1998 and is currently 27.

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nelly Korda falls short of third straight major at Women’s PGA Championship

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