This week in professional golf, attention shifts to the LPGA Tour for the Chevron Championship, the year`s first major, featuring top women`s players. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy is back competing after his Masters win completed his career Grand Slam.
World number one Nelly Korda aims to defend her title at The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas. Last year, she made history by winning five consecutive starts, a feat only Nancy Lopez and Annika Sörenstam had achieved on the LPGA Tour. Korda is still seeking her first victory of the current season.
Fresh off his playoff victory over Justin Rose at Augusta National, McIlroy will play in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the PGA Tour`s unique team format event.
McIlroy and his partner, Shane Lowry, are trying to be the first duo to win the Zurich Classic consecutively since it became a team event in 2017.
The LIV Golf League also resumes play this Friday in Mexico City at Club De Golf Chapultepec.
Here`s a closer look at the key golf events happening this week:
Nelly Korda`s Title Defense
When Korda arrived at the Chevron Championship last year, she had already secured four wins, adding a fifth with a two-shot victory over Maja Stark to capture her second major. Overall in 2024, Korda won seven tournaments, including the Mizuho Americas Open and The Annika.
So far this season, Korda is seeking her first win in her sixth event. Her best results include a second-place finish at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in February and a tie for seventh at the Founders Cup.
“Last year is behind us,” Korda stated. “This is a fresh start. Nobody can take away what I accomplished last year, it`s a fantastic memory. But this week is new, and I have a fresh mindset.”
Korda feels more confident about her iron shots after finishing tied for 16th last week at the JM Eagle LA Championship in California. However, she notes that her putting hasn`t been as sharp and is hoping it improves.
“The main area where I`m struggling is making the putts I made last year,” Korda explained. “I`m not sinking as many this season, but that`s golf. I`ve experienced this before, and I`m hopeful that with continued practice, it will come together.”
Korda recently shared that she relaxes away from the course by building Lego sets. Last week, she finished constructing a McLaren Formula 1 model received from a fan, as well as a Simba figure from `The Lion King`.
“I`m planning to build LEGOs with my dad this week,” Korda mentioned. “Maybe we`ll play some games too. We`re both very competitive. We used to play Sequence often, so I might bring that back. Things like that help me switch off from golf.”
Lilia Vu Returns After Injury
Lilia Vu, who won the Chevron Championship in 2023, wasn`t certain she`d resume playing golf after withdrawing from the first major last year due to a back issue. Vu disclosed on Tuesday that before pulling out before the first round, she was unable to hit a ball even 40 yards on the range.
“Last year, I was quite worried about whether I would ever play golf again, let alone in a competition,” Vu commented. “When you`re at that point, your perspective shifts. I wasn`t even thinking about defending my title; I couldn`t complete a single hole. It was a good opportunity to reassess things.”
Vu described her extended break from competitive play as the “most challenging two months” of her life. During recovery, she spent time reading and listening to audiobooks. She missed the U.S. Women`s Open but later returned to share second place finishes at both the Women`s PGA Championship and the Women`s British Open.
“I simply focused on becoming a better person,” Vu stated. “That was the only area I could work on at that time. Physically, I committed to physical therapy and learned proper breathing and posture techniques.”
“It felt like a complete life change,” she added. “I believe things happen for a reason, and that experience was necessary for me to develop greater body awareness.”
Rose Zhang`s Recovery Update
Rose Zhang, a former two-time NCAA Division I national champion, will miss her second consecutive event as she recovers from a neck injury sustained during her first-round match at the T-Mobile Match Play in Las Vegas on April 3. The injury led her to withdraw from her second-round match.
On April 6, Zhang posted on Instagram, saying: “Frankly, things haven`t been great for me in golf lately, and an injury has made it hard to compete with enthusiasm. But this isn`t a complaint. Although this time is difficult, I`m very optimistic about getting better and putting in the effort to play at the top level.”
Zhang has played in only three LPGA events this year while completing her studies at Stanford. Her results include a tie for 10th at the Tournament of Champions and a missed cut at the Ford Championship in late March.
Her return date to competition remains uncertain.
Ingrid Lindblad`s Quick Rise
Rookie Ingrid Lindblad, a former LSU standout, earned her first LPGA win in just her third start at last week`s JM Eagle LA Championship, leading to some unexpected direct messages on Instagram.
Among the messages were congratulations from Annika Sörenstam, a 10-time major champion, and Suzann Pettersen, the recent captain for the European Solheim Cup team.
“Some pretty big names, in my view, sent congratulations,” Lindblad commented. “That`s really cool. It makes you feel known, not like a complete unknown.”
Lindblad is quickly becoming a familiar name in women`s professional golf. Her amateur career included a runner-up finish at the 2022 Augusta National Women`s Amateur and 53 weeks ranked as the world`s number one amateur.
At the 2022 U.S. Women`s Open in North Carolina, she set an amateur record with a first-round 65 (-6) and finished tied for 11th (-1). Last year, she tied for 26th (-5) at the Amundi Evian Championship.
The Swedish player earned her LPGA card after just nine starts on the Epson Tour last year.
The congratulatory messages from Sörenstam and Pettersen weren`t the only pleasant surprises Lindblad received after her Sunday win.
“I expected to pay for one checked bag flying Delta,” Lindblad recounted. “They waived the fee, and I thought, `Okay!` but I wasn`t sure if it was because of me or if they made a mistake.”
Schauffele`s Surprising Putting Advice Helps Thomas
Following his first PGA Tour win in nearly three years at last week`s RBC Heritage in South Carolina, Justin Thomas gave reporters an unexpected reason for his significant improvement in putting this season.
He credited two-time major winner Xander Schauffele with helping him improve. Late last year, Thomas joined Schauffele for a practice round near their homes in Florida.
“As you know, Xander is very thorough,” Thomas said. “He told me that day, `If it could potentially help your golf, I`ve likely done or tried it.` So I discussed his approach to practice, reading greens, and his overall process with him.”
Thomas realized he lacked a consistent fundamental approach or “home base” for his putting practice.
Last year, Thomas ranked poorly (174th) in strokes gained: putting (-0.478). This season, he`s significantly improved, ranking 24th (0.459), and was seventh best in the field at Hilton Head Island.
“More than anything, I think he was searching or perhaps trying too hard,” Schauffele commented. “He`s had so much success before, so it might have been a realization for him – like, `I used to do several of the things we talked about but stopped because I was overly focused on improvement.`”
“I felt the solutions were straightforward for him,” Schauffele added. “JT is such a talented player that he quickly figured it out.”
Justin Thomas Stays With Caddie
For his recent win, his first since the 2022 PGA Championship, Thomas had Joe Greiner, Max Homa`s former caddie, filling in. However, Thomas confirmed on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio that his regular caddie, Matt `Rev` Minister, will return once he recovers from a back injury.
“It was understood from the beginning that Joe was temporarily filling in,” Thomas stated. “We were very fortunate that Joe was available until Rev was back in good health.”
Jasper Hawthorne