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Lilia Vu was on point with her analogy of Nelly Korda and Caitlin Clark, the rising star of women’s basketball.
Women’s sports are having a moment right now.
The women’s March Madness tournament set records, with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark taking over the sports world. So much so that twice as many people watched the Iowa vs UConn Final Four game than did The Masters, as Augusta National ratings plummeted.
But it is not just college basketball that is seeing a rise in women’s sports.
The LPGA continues to grow and expand. Earlier this week, the LPGA announced a record purse for this week’s Chevron Championship, the first major of the year.
It has helped that Nelly Korda is on a heater.
Korda has won four straight LPGA Tour events in 2024 and is eying her fifth this week. What she has done so far this year is mind-blowing. It has not happened since Lorena Ochoa won four straight in 2008. The only other person to accomplish the feat was Annika Sorenstam in 2004 and 2005.
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Nelly Korda posing after winning inaugural Ford Championship
Ahead of the Chevron Championship, Lilia Vu, the World No. 2., provided a perfect comparison between Korda and Clark.
“She’s kind of our Caitlin Clark out here,” Vu said.
There has been a surge in women’s college basketball viewership because of Clark and the rest of her draft class.
Clark, however, is the main attraction. She is the Division I all-time leading scorer across men’s and women’s basketball. For the first time in college basketball history, the women’s national championship earned more eyes than the men’s.
“I think it’s happening right now with Nelly,” Vu explained regarding the expansion of women’s golf. “She is bringing so much to the table, just win after win, having everything together. She’s done such a good job. So well-liked and loved out here. She brings a big following. She’s a great person.”
To open her season, Korda won The LPGA Drive On Championship. After a seven-week break, the Florida resident took home the Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship title in a playoff. She then became the first Ford Championship winner and outlasted the stacked field at the T-Mobile Match Play event to earn her fourth victory.
Another popular player who draws attention to women’s golf, Rose Zhang, reflected on what Korda is doing ahead of the Chevron.
“There is only one Nelly Korda, and I think she shows how she is the best right now in the game,” Zhang said. “I’ve always watched her play. There was something special about her. So to see her do all that she has done, especially the last four events, it has been inspiring.”
Her fellow competitors see Korda as arguably the best player in the world regardless of gender.
Can she win her second career major and fifth straight LPGA tournament, or will someone else steal the top spot from her?
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SBNation’ss Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
