CHASKA, Minn. (AP) — Nelly Korda moved within three strokes of the lead as she made the turn in the final round of the Women's PGA Championship, before three sharp shots gave her a birdie on the 10th hole.
Winning a third straight major to start the season was within reach for Korda on this windy Sunday at Hazeltine National Golf Club, three weeks after she came back to secure her first U.S. Women's Open title.
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Nelly Korda celebrates a putt on the seventh hole during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Nelly Korda chips onto the seventh green during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Nelly Korda watches her putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Nelly Korda talks to her caddie on the first hole during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt York)
“I was just trying to take it a shot at a time, really," Korda said. "I didn’t know where the leaders were at, so I was just trying to focus on myself.”
Soft greens from a morning deluge that delayed play by 3 1/2 hours and an unsteady putter got the best of her, as did the rest of the formidable pack at the top of the leaderboard. That's why the feat she was pursuing is so rare, a daunting prospect even for the runaway LPGA Tour leader.
Haeran Ryu finished at 13-under 275 to become the sixth South Korean to win the event over the last 12 editions, beating Ina Yoon by two strokes. Brooke Henderson and Dewi Weber tied for third at 10 under. Three Americans — Allisen Corpuz, Auston Kim and Alison Lee — tied for fifth place, six strokes behind Ryu.
Korda shot a 1-over 73 to finish seven shots back and fall into a four-way tie for eighth, failing to match what Inbee Park in 2013 and Babe Zaharias in 1950 pulled off as the only women to win the first three majors of the season.
For her part, that wasn't an accomplishment she'd been intentionally pursuing, even if her smashing success on the course this year has been fueling more fan interest in the sport, a following that was palpable to her wherever she went this week.
“You guys made that such a big thing. I didn’t think about that, no," Korda said. “I was just kind of disappointed in the way that I played this week, not that I came up short really. I was just thinking about the way that I played, not like the realistic big picture that everyone is talking about.”
Korda three-putted five times this week, after posting no more than three in any other tournament this year. Hazeltine’s signature lakeside hole dragged her down, too, with a double bogey in both the first and fourth rounds on the 16th. Her second shot from the right edge of the fairway on Sunday splashed in the water for a costly penalty stroke, and she two-putted the par-4 hole.
This was just the second time in nine official stroke play events this year that Korda didn't finish first or second. She also tied for eighth at the Queen City Championship in Cincinnati in May. Korda still needs two points to secure her spot in the LPGA Hall of Fame, a system that will grant her entry with one more major win or two more regular tour event victories. But with the Evian Championship and Women’s British Open waiting on the schedule next month, Korda has two more majors to play. Winning one of them would give her the career grand slam at age 27.
Next week, she'll rest and reset before traveling to Europe.
“Just chill for a few days,” Korda said, “and then practice.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Nelly Korda celebrates a putt on the seventh hole during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Nelly Korda chips onto the seventh green during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Nelly Korda watches her putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Nelly Korda talks to her caddie on the first hole during the final round of the Women's PGA Championship golf tournament at Hazeltine National Golf Club, Sunday, June 28, 2026, in Chaska, Minn. (AP Photo/Matt York)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian Bill Maher was the guest of honor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. But President Donald Trump's presence wasn't far away.
Just moments after Maher began to accept the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Matt Friend, a leading impersonator of the president, took to the stage and, in Trump's voice, joked that he would accept the award himself. Trump was the punchline for other comedians and entertainers, including Whitney Cummings, Jay Leno and Woody Harrelson.
The barbs were notable for unfolding in an iconic performing arts venue that has become a metaphor for Trump's second-term effort to remake Washington in his image. But they were also paired with knocks at extremes in both political parties as Maher called out "groupthink.”
“If you hang around long enough and create something important enough, everyone hates you at some point,” Maher said.
Trump didn't attend the ceremony. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was the most prominent member of the administration in attendance. Other political guests included Paul Dans, who helped shape the Republican Project 2025 agenda. Some Democrats were in attendance, including Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
The future of the Kennedy Center hung over the event. Shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the Republican president fired much of the center's leadership and installed a board largely composed of allies. It named Trump as chairman and his name was added to the building's iconic facade, prompting a legal battle that became a proxy fight over the extent of the president's power.
Trump later said the Kennedy Center would close in July for a two-year renovation. But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper upended those plans in May by ruling that Trump's name was illegally added to the building, ordering it removed. The judge also has blocked the closure.
Trump's name has come down from the building, in compliance with the judge's order. But the part of the building once covered with letters spelling the president's name is now shrouded in a tarp. The full closure is on hold. Lawyers for the Kennedy Center have said they are not planning for now to build out programming.
Cooper has asked for an update next month on how long the tarp will remain on the building. For now, the final event scheduled for the Kennedy Center's well-known Concert Hall is “The Freedom Gathering: A Musical Celebration” on July 3.
The legal fight has turned into a saga that at points became fodder for jokes at the Twain gala.
At one point, Harrelson joked “we fixed that" in a nod to the court order calling for Trump's name to be removed from the building.
Ahead of the ceremony, Lutnick said Trump “wants to make this building sensational.”
But others were more skeptical. As he walked the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Leno said Trump’s moves at the Kennedy Center were both “hilarious” and about “vanity.”
“It's not a war,” he said. “It's not people getting killed. It's not anti Semitism. It's a silly thing covering a name. I mean what's funnier than that? I mean it's just like, you know it's high school with money.”
Friend said he felt there was a “hunger games vibe” as he entered the building.
“It's crazy,” he said of the changes Trump has pushed for.
Given Trump's sway over the Kennedy Center, Maher's selection for the award was notable because the two men have long had a fraught relationship.
Before he entered politics, Trump filed a $5 million lawsuit against Maher in 2013 for breach of contract. Appearing on Leno’s “The Tonight Show,” Maher said he would give $5 million to the charity of Trump’s choice if Trump could prove he was not “the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan.”
Trump claimed that when he provided his birth certificate, Maher did not pay up, prompting the lawsuit. Trump ended up dropping it.
The Trump-Maher relationship exploded again earlier this year, when the president claimed on social media that he wasted time sitting down for a meal with the comedian last year.
Maher hosted Vice President JD Vance on his show heading into the weekend. Vance, who is promoting a book, said he watches the show and laughed at Maher's monologue “even though you were making fun of me.” During the interview, Maher pressed Vance on the Iran war, immigration enforcement and election conspiracy theories.
“You guys have two outcomes that an election can be,” Maher told Vance. “Either we win or they cheated. That s—- has to stop.”
The Twain prize ceremony will air on Netflix on July 21.
Associated Press videojournalist John Carucci contributed to this report.
Comedian Jay Leno, right, and Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher pose on the red carpet for the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
From left, Louis C.K., Jay Leno, Arianna Huffington, and Stephen A. Smith, wait for the start of the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher motions to the audience at the start of the 27th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor Celebrating Bill Maher, Sunday, June 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seen, as its sign remains covered by a tarp, Friday, June 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
