Nelly Korda off to a fast start with a 65 to lead by 2 in The Chevron Championship

HOUSTON — Nelly Korda leaned on her putter to save pars early and then poured it on her back nine of Memorial Park for a 7-under 65, her best start to a major in four years to take a two-shot lead Thursday in The Chevron Championship.

Patty Tavatanakit, who won this major as a rookie in 2021 when it was the ANA Inspiration in the California desert, played bogey-free for a 67 and was two shots back along with Somi Lee, who bogeyed her final hole on the par-3 ninth.

Farah O’Keefe, the junior at Texas, missed a 5-foot par putt on her last hole to fall back into the group of players at 68.

“Just day one out of four — a lot can happen,” Korda said after her best opening round in a major since a 64 in the 2022 Evian Championship. “So happy to be in this position and hoping to move forward.”

Korda has been building toward the first major of the LPGA season, playing in the final group in each of her four tournaments this year and winning the season opener.

She started on No. 10 and the American star was in full flight after making the turn on a rain-soaked course that got little roll in the fairway. She made birdie on the three par 5s on the front nine and really shined on the tough par 3s — a 6-iron to 4 feet on No. 2, a 5-iron to 5 feet on No. 7.

Equally important was keeping bogeys off her card — her first bogey-free round in a major since the second round of the 2024 Women’s British Open — especially on the front nine.

“Made a really long one on my first hole which could have started out the day with a bogey and I didn’t. I made a really solid putt,” she said. “Even on the second hole where I saved a 5-footer for par. Made some good saves for par.”

She also took advantage of the par 5s, which she often does when contending in majors (she was 21 under on the par 5s in her major wins at The Chevron in 2024 and the KPMG Women’s PGA in 2021). They didn’t always go as planned.

Korda couldn’t get to the par-5 first hole (her 10th) in two because of a drive that strayed to the right. And when she hammered a drive with the wind at her back on the par-5 third, she had 6-iron to the green that came up short of a green with a back pin.

“Chunked it,” Korda said. “But I birdied both, so we’re good.”

But it was the par 3s coming in that stood out, especially No. 2. Korda hit 6-iron from a slightly elevated tee over the bunker complex to 4 feet, a shot she considered her best of the day.

She prefers to hit a draw, and the wind gusting off the left made that uncomfortable for her. She had to carry a big slope, and the pin was tucked behind a bunker on the right, a bad place to miss.

“So really dialed into my target ... just left of the pin and the wind took it nicely and it dropped right next to the hole,” she said. “One, it took really nice. Two, it landed absolutely the perfect number. So those are the shot that you’re like, ‘Oh, God, I love golf.’