PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Nelly Korda delivered an early knockout punch Sunday and stretched her lead to as many as seven shots before cruising to the finish line with a 3-under 69 and a four-shot victory in the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba for her third win of the young season.
One week after Korda crushed the field at The Chevron Championship for her third career major, she left everyone feeling hopeless at El Camaleon with precision that carried the No. 1 player in women's golf to another dominant victory.
Korda went 60 consecutive holes without a bogey, a streak that ended when it no longer mattered.
She had a six-shot lead playing the 18th when she sent her drive to the right and deep into the tropical bushes, never finding the golf ball. She hit a provisional into a bunker, the next one into the gallery and finished by making a 20-foot putt for bogey, only her second of the tournament.
Korda stretched out her arm and casually threw her right fist with whatever energy she had left.
She finished at 17-under 271, four shots ahead Arpichaya Yubol of Thailand, who celebrated her 24th birthday with a 70 to finish alone in second. Yu Liu of China (69) was another shot back.
None had much of a chance against Korda, who became the first player since Annika Sorenstam in 2001 to start a season with nothing worse than a runner-up finish through six events.
Korda started with a three-shot lead, and then it was over. She holed a 12-foot eagle putt from the collar of the par-5 fifth hole, followed with a 10-foot birdie putt from the fringe on No. 6 and then hit a lob wedge to 4 feet for birdie on the par-5 seventh.
She didn't need to do anything more the rest of the way, following with 10 straight pars until taking her hands off the wheel on the final hole.
Asked if she was playing the best golf of her career, Korda demurred.
“I’m just enjoying myself and I love the competition. I love traveling to places like Mexico, all over the world. I’m just having fun,” she said.
Starting times were moved up to avoid thunderstorms moving along the coast of Mexico that looks out across the Caribbean Sea. It was still steamy, and Korda doused her head with a bottle of water as she walked off the 16th tee. Nothing could cool her off.
Korda could only laugh at her blunder on the final hole that kept her from matching or surpassing her largest margin of victory, set last week with her five-shot win in Houston at a major.
“On the last hole here I was humbled by golf,” she said. “I had a pretty smooth day and on the last hole just kind of like humbles you a little bit. You put in the work. Everyone out here puts in the work. Sometimes it works out.”
She now has 18 wins on the LPGA, making the 27-year-old the youngest American with 18 titles since Nancy Lopez at age 23 won her 18th in 1980.
Arkansas senior Maria Jose Marin, who delighted the crowd with her Augusta National Women's Amateur title last month, had a 69-69 weekend to finish fifth. The top 10 would make her eligible for next week at the Mizuho Americas Open, but she has finals.
Korda also is skipping next week after two straight wins. She had talked about lacking energy this week, but also making sure she was working instead of on vacation at a Mexican resort.
“I'll enjoy a few days off,” Korda said.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Nelly Korda celebrates after winning the Chevron Championship LPGA golf tournament Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Indian Premier League leader Punjab Kings lost its second straight game in a four-wicket defeat to Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
Punjab recovered from losing two wickets in the opening three balls of the match to post 163-9 after being made to bat first by Gujarat, which reached 167-6 with one ball remaining.
Suryansh Shedge (57 runs off 29 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (40 off 31) shared a 79-run partnership for Punjab’s sixth wicket. West Indies pacer Jason Holder took 4-24 in four overs.
Mohammed Siraj (2-28) did the early damage for Gujarat, claiming Priyansh Arya on the second ball of the game, and Cooper Connolly on the third. Punjab skipper Shreyas Iyer (19) denied India quick Siraj his hat trick.
Washington Sundar guided Gujarat's successful chase, finishing on 40 not out off 23 balls, after opener Sai Sudharsan hit a 41-ball 57.
Punjab, which lost its previous game to Rajasthan Royals, has a one-point lead over Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Earlier Sunday, spinner Varun Chakravarthy took 3-36 as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Hyderabad by seven wickets with 10 balls remaining.
Sunil Narine claimed 2-31, and pacer Kartik Tyagi returned 2-30, as host Hyderabad was bowled out for 165 runs in 19 overs.
Opener Travis Head smashed 61 off only 28 balls, but Hyderabad collapsed from 135-4 and lost its last six wickets for just 30 runs.
In reply, Kolkata finished with 169-3 in 18.2 overs. Impact player Angkrish Raghuvanshi top-scored for his team with 59 off 47 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes, while skipper Ajinkya Rahane hit a 36-ball 43.
It was Kolkata’s third successive win as it stayed eighth in the points’ table after nine games, rebounding after five losses and a no-result. Hyderabad’s slip meant it stayed third with a fourth loss in 10 games, missing the chance to go top.
Hyderabad won the toss and chose to bat first. Head hit nine fours and three sixes overall, and scored his second consecutive half-century off 22 balls. He put on 44 off 22 deliveries with Abhishek Sharma, who scored 15 and was caught off Tyagi.
The hosts reached 71-1 in the powerplay with Head and Ishan Kishan (42 off 29) adding another 61 runs off 32 balls. Chakravarthy got the breakthrough when Head was out caught in the ninth over.
Hyderabad slumped to 122-4 – Heinrich Klaasen went for 11 with Rovman Powell taking a splendid one-handed catch in the deep and Chakravarthy dismissed Ravichandran Smaran (4).
A key turning point came in the 16th over when Narine claimed two wickets, including Kishan's, and Hyderabad didn’t have any momentum in the death overs.
Overall, it lost nine wickets for 60 runs after being 105-1 in 8.5 overs.
In reply, Kolkata made a quick start – Finn Allen hit 29 off 13 balls, before he was caught off Pat Cummins.
Kolkata also made 71-1 in the powerplay. Rahane and Raghuvanshi put on 84 off 66 balls for the second wicket, effectively shutting out Hyderabad from the game.
Raghuvanshi reached his 50 off 39 balls – his third of the season.
Rinku Singh’s 22 not out off 11 balls took Kolkata home.
It was Kolkata’s 21st win in 32 games against Hyderabad – its best record against an opponent in the IPL.
Gujarat’s pace attack hit Punjab hard – none of its top-five batters reached 20. Kagiso Rabada took 2-22, after Siraj’s double blow in the first over.
Punjab was 47-5 in 8.4 overs, including the wicket of Iyer, who couldn’t rescue his side for once.
Stoinis and Shedge added 79 off 44 balls to give a fighting total for the Punjab bowlers, albeit very much under-par at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Despite Shubman Gill’s early dismissal for five, Gujarat never looked in any trouble. Sudharsan scored his third half-century of the season – he also has a hundred against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
He added 53 off 40 balls with Jos Buttler (26), as well as key partnerships with Nishant Sindhu (15) and Sundar later.
Iyer marshaled his bowlers well – Arshdeep Singh and Vijaykumar Vyshak shared four wickets. But Sundar held the lower order together to ease Gujarat to its sixth win in 10 games. The Titans are fifth – trailing Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Rajasthan on net run-rate. All four teams are on 12 points.
Punjab is still top of the table with 13 points from nine games, despite its twin losses.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Gujarat Titans' Jason Holder celebrates the wicket of Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Gujarat Titans' Kagiso Rabada, left, celebrates the wicket of Punjab Kings' Suryansh Shedge with teammates during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Gujarat Titans' Washington Sundar plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Kolkata Knight Riders' Varun Chakaravarthy bowls a delivery during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad , India, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Ajinkya Rahane plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad , India, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Kolkata Knight Riders'captain Ajinkya Rahane, right, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi, encourage each other as they bat during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
