NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Nelly Korda is on a roll not seen on the LPGA Tour in 16 years.
She won four of the first seven holes, largely making the rest of the final Sunday in the T-Mobile Match Play a formality in beating Leona Maguire 4 and 3 at Shadow Creek.
“This golf course is so tough that pars are going to go a long way,” Korda said during the award ceremony. “`Stay in your own bubble, hit fairways, hit greens and try not to make mistakes.' And (I) did that today.”
Lorena Ochoa in 2008 was the last player to win four consecutive starts. Korda, the world's top-ranked player, will try to tie the record of five — set by Nancy Lopez in 1978 and matched by Annika Sorenstam in 2004-05 — in two weeks at the season's first major, The Chevron Championship outside Houston.
Because Korda took seven weeks off after winning in January in her hometown of Bradenton, Florida, this victory was her third straight in a scheduled event. Four players share the record of four in a row, with Mickey Wright doing it twice.
This was the first head-to-head match-play singles event between Korda and Maguire, but they have experience against each other in similar settings at the Solheim Cup. The Irish player is 3-1 while representing Europe in team match-play events against Korda.
Korda birdied Nos. 5-7 for a 4-up lead. She was 5 up after 12, saw Maguire take 13 and 14 with pars, and ended the match with a par win on the par-4 15th.
Korda earned $300,000 for her 12th career victory.
“You know you’re going to have to make birdies if you want to beat her,” Maguire said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t make enough today. Hats off to her. She is an incredible player and she is playing some great golf right now. All I could do is play my own game, and that wasn’t good enough today.”
This tournament was entirely match play the first three years and played in late May when temperatures often are in the high 90s. Many of the top players opted not to compete.
The format changed this year to three days of stroke play, with the top eight advancing to match play on the weekend. The event also moved back to early April, when temperatures are much more moderate, which helped attract its strongest field.
It's a field that Maguire dominated during stroke play, ending the first three rounds at 6-under par, three strokes better than anyone else.
“It almost felt like two separate tournaments this week, the stroke play event and the match-play event,” Maguire said. “To lead the stroke play around this golf course by three at the end of the three days was something I can take a lot of positives from and be very proud of.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Nelly Korda putts on the fourth green during the final round of the LPGA T-Mobile Match Play golf tournament Sunday, April 7, 2024, in North Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Leona Maguire hits off the second tee during the final round of the LPGA T-Mobile Match Play golf tournament Sunday, April 7, 2024, in North Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Nelly Korda hits out of a bunker at the fourth green during the final round of the LPGA T-Mobile Match Play golf tournament Sunday, April 7, 2024, in North Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Nelly Korda hits off the first fairway during the final round of the LPGA T-Mobile Match Play golf tournament Sunday, April 7, 2024, in North Las Vegas, Nev. (AP Photo/John Locher)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kyle Larson came around Chris Buescher on the final lap and banged doors with him all the way to the finish line Sunday, where he was declared the winner of the Cup Series race by officials at Kansas Speedway in the closest finish in NASCAR history.
The official margin was a thousandth of a second — every bit as close as the Kentucky Derby a day earlier — and Buescher was left both dumbfounded and dejected. His team had begun to celebrate before learning he had finished second.
The dramatic finale came after a caution for Kyle Busch's spin forced a green-white-checkered finish. Larson pulled behind Buescher on the backstretch of the last lap, then came around him on the outside of the final corner. Buescher looked as if he had pulled in front, and even Larson thought he had finished second, before the call came through that he had won.
“That was wild,” Larson said. “I was thankful for that caution. We were dying pretty bad. I was happy to come out third.”
It was a brilliant start to a busy month of May for Larson, who will attempt to run the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day Memorial Day weekend. The win was the second of the season for him in the No. 5 car for Hendrick Motorsports, and a bit of retribution finishing second to Denny Hamlin last week at Dover and in the spring race at Kansas a year ago.
Martin Truex Jr. finished fourth on Sunday and Hamlin, who had the lead on the final restart, faded back to fifth place.
Meanwhile, Buescher was left questioning the grainy black-and-white images of the photo finish, and the entire Ford contingent — which has yet to win in any of NASCAR's top three series this year — had to rue the closest miss in its history.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” Buescher said, shaking his head while standing beside his No. 17 car. “I haven’t seen a replay other than just the picture, and I sure can’t see in that picture. That sucks to be that close.”
Making it a bigger bummer for Buescher was the fact that he had overcome a big miscue midway through the race. He had just won the second stage and led the field onto pit road when a crew member came over the wall too soon. The penalty sent him to the rear of the field, and he had to spend much of the final stage working his way back to the front.
Ultimately, he opted for a different pit strategy along with Hamlin, who had his own share of problems on pit road. And it might have worked out for them had the race finished under green. Instead, the late caution forced all the leaders to pit.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” Buescher said.
Christopher Bell started on the pole but struggled to run up front all day in a race that began after a 3 1/2-hour delay because of rain, finishing sixth. He was followed by Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch, whose spin brought out the last caution. Noah Gragson and Michael McDowell gave Ford two more cars in the top 10.
YELLOW FLAGS
There were no cautions other than for stage breaks until Jimmie Johnson wrecked with 91 laps to go. The seven-time champion, back in the No. 84 for the second consecutive week, was hit from behind by Corey LaJoie after he checked up.
“Just trying to set up for the corner, I got a little help from behind and just kind of hanging on from there,” Johnson said.
The yellow flags then came in quickly: Hamlin made contact with Austin Cindric, sending the No. 2 into a wreck that spun out Bubba Wallace and McDowell. Harrison Burton wrecked on the restart, then Joey Logano did on the next one.
HEIM TIME
Corey Heim, who won the Truck Series race on Saturday night, finished 22nd while subbing for Erik Jones in the No. 43 car for Legacy Motor Club. Jones has been cleared to return after a wreck at Talladega resulted in a compression fracture in his back, but the team opted to hold him out for one more week to be on the safe side.
ODDS AND ENDS
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 16th in his first race since signing a contract extension with JTG Daugherty Racing. He also did it after going for a wild ride in his sprint car on Saturday night at nearby Lakeside Speedway. ... Gragson has had strong back-to-back weeks after finishing sixth at Dover. ... The series heads to Darlington next for its annual throwback weekend.
AP NASCAR: https://apnews.com/hub/nascar-racing
Ross Chastain, left, along with other drivers and crews stand along pit road during the playing of the National Anthem before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Kyle Larson climbs into his car before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson, center, walks to a track meeting as rain falls before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Kyle Larson (5) crosses the finish line milliseconds in front of Chris Buescher (17) for the win during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Ross Chastain waits along pit road as drivers prepare for a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Kyle Larson, center, visits with his pit crew along pit road before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Water pools near the garage area as rain delays a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
Racers head toward Turn 1 at the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., Sunday, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)
