World No. 1 Nelly Korda seeks third straight major title this week

World No. 1 Nelly Korda of the United States will bid for three consecutive major titles at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship, the third major of the LPGA Tour season.

Korda enters the tournament as the heavy favorite as the field tees off Thursday at Hazeltine National Golf Club (par 72, 6,807 yards) in Chaska, Minnesota. A victory would give her three wins in the season's first three majors — a feat last achieved by Park In-bee in 2013 and only the second time in women's golf history.

The achievement would also serve as a springboard toward the calendar Grand Slam, a sweep of all majors in a single season. Hazeltine National is also where Korda claimed her first major title, in 2021.

Korda has already won the Chevron Championship and the US Women's Open earlier this season. Across nine starts, she has posted four wins and three runner-up finishes.

South Korean players are the most likely challengers to Korda's dominance, with 21 Koreans in the field. Leading the charge is Jeon In-ji, the "major queen" who has shown clear signs of a resurgence.

After a prolonged slump, Jeon finished fourth at the US Women's Open earlier this month and tied for 12th at the Meijer LPGA Classic last week, signaling a return to form. She is also the 2022 champion at this venue.

Hazeltine National last hosted the event in 2019, when Park Sung-hyun narrowly missed back-to-back titles, finishing runner-up by one stroke. Also in the field are Ko Jin-young, Kim Hyo-joo, Kim Sei-young, Ryu Hae-ran, Choi Hye-jin and Yun I-na, all contending for the title.

The PGA of America and KPMG, the tournament's co-organizers, announced Tuesday that the purse has been set at $13 million (about 20 billion won) — a $1 million increase from last year and the largest in women's golf history, surpassing the $12.5 million offered at the US Women's Open earlier this month. The winner will take home $1.95 million (about 2.7 billion won).

Broadcast coverage has also expanded significantly, with NBC and Golf Channel set to air 26 hours of live coverage. Tim Walsh, chairman of KPMG Americas, said in a statement that he was proud to present "the LPGA Tour's premier major with the largest purse in history," adding that the organization would work with the PGA of America and the LPGA Tour "to deliver the greatest stage ever."