Sign up every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in sports and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss the second turn of Nelly Korda’s dominance, the new Ryder Cup captain and exorbitant ticket prices.
Nelly Korda won the Chevron Championship, blitzing the field to win by five and claims her first major of the year, the third of her career. Two years ago she won seven times, but followed that up with a 2025 winless run. This year she has already won twice. Is a summer of Nelly Korda dominance ahead? What has changed?
James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): It’s the hardest thing in golf to win a tournament. And yet, it’s very, very hard to miss golf tournaments when you play like Nelly did this weekend. On Sunday’s front nine with a five-shot lead, feeling all the pressure in the world to close it out, Korda made seven pars and two birdies. There’s a maturity to that kind of sensitivity on Sunday at a major, and I think that explains a lot of her success in Houston.
Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): I think Nelly has settled into a comfortable place with what SHE wants to be in the game. When she last went on a run like this, there was immense pressure on her to carry the entire women’s game. To try and live up to the cross-sport comparisons with Caitlin Clark. I’m not sure Korda ever felt good about it all.
To answer the question, I hope a summer of Nelly is coming. She’s definitely one of the best players we’ve ever seen, which makes me want to see what she’s capable of at her peak. This comes in the same week that DataGolf launched its women’s rankings. I want to see her rise and plant her flag with one of the best seasons of all time. And then, if I may be greedy, I want to see Jeeno Thitikul go toe-to-toe with him.
Josh Schrock, news editor (@schrock_and_awe): Here in Houston all week, it was very apparent that Nelly Korda is at peace with who she is and her maturity on the golf course stems from both personal happiness and a decision she and caddy Jason McDede made to approach things differently after 2025. She has made a concerted effort to play smart golf, not take unnecessary risks, internal and external, and not allow unnecessary negativity, to risk in her game. McDede told me that last year’s loss at Erin Hills was really the catalyst for the changes she made in her mindset, and I think there’s reason to believe she can grab a few more wins this year. Every part of her game is on fire, and her decision to hire a “no-nonsense” coach has helped address what was the Achilles heel of her game. The roaring train to the Riviera will be out of control.
A point of discussion before the Chevron tour was whether the winner’s dance at Poppie’s Pond should continue with the tour now taking place at a new venue, Memorial Park. A small pool was built as a placeholder this year (in which Korda splashed) until Tom Doak builds a more natural water feature before next year. Should the winner’s jump stay at the former Carlton Woods? Is it cheating? Or is it a fun and important tradition to preserve?
Colgan: Golf people deal a lot with the silliest things. I’d argue that sports are fun precisely because of our stupidly blind adherence to utterly wild (and often dim) traditions like the winner’s dance. We are emotionally invested in someone’s ability to put a cue ball into a hole in the ground with fewer drops than their opponent. This is as silly as it sounds. If the winner wants to jump in a kiddie pool or wrestle an orangutan, we have to be firm.
Zack: If they fight an orangutan, I’ll be moved by that. I’m sorry, James. But I actually kind of dig this tradition, mostly because … who cares? Take your hate elsewhere. There are more important—and far more devious—things to be angry about. Nelly’s team seemed to enjoy the dance.
Schrock: Totally agree. What was all the fuss about? The players want to keep the tradition alive, and the LPGA created a ban movement to allow it. There’s a lot of slack for the dumb stuff in golf. This was much ado about nothing. Korda was one of the players who wanted to preserve the tradition. She went inside. We continue. It’s a sport. Go for a spin if you’re that bored, maybe in a pool.
The PGA of America announced Jim Furyk as its Ryder Cup captain for 2027, and he will become just the fourth repeat captain in the modern era. While we have already discussed news earlier this week, Furyk has had plenty of experience since his loss in 2018 (as Ryder Cup assistant and Presidents Cup captain). What do you think was his biggest lesson from Paris that will be most useful next year?
Colgan: Don’t allow yourself to start the Cup by getting punched in the face. A fast start is the greatest asset for any road team, and this is especially true in the Cup.
Zack: What a great lesson NEEDS be: pairs placed weeks ago. maybe MONTH in advance. The Euros have produced couples who knew they would be playing together in June. It seems like a strategy that continues to work.
Schrock: There has to be a better strategy with pairings than letting the guys play whoever they want and fly by the seat of their pants as the competition goes on. The US has talent, but lacks it in every other area.
Speaking of the Ryder Cup, tickets for 2027 in Ireland were recently announced as $585, which is more than double the cost of the last European Ryder Cup (in Rome in 2023). It also comes a year after $750 tickets caused an uproar in Bethpage. The PGA of America said it is then a “Tier 1” sporting event and the corresponding awards. What do you say? Is it good for golf that prices (and demand) for Ryder Cup tickets are on the rise? Or wild boxing some fans?
Colgan: Oh, it’s utterly pathetic and utterly against the spirit of an exhibition that aims to celebrate golf’s finest virtues. If the Euros don’t demand payment to play in the Cup after the recent ticket news, they are being naive.
Zack: So is this prize… Level 2? Or is it still Level 1, but in Ireland? I feel sad for the locals who have circled this event on their calendars for years – after a very rich businessman won the bid to bring a now very rich event to his very expensive resort. There’s a long tail of perks that follow the Ryder Cup and make it worthwhile for everyone’s cause, but many now start with a ton of paying fans up front. It feels changed.
Schrock: Totally outrageous. Ticket prices for everything have gone needlessly through the roof, but for an exhibition match for a sport that’s supposed to be about egalitarianism, that’s pretty brutal.
It’s official — for the first time in nearly six decades, the PGA Tour won’t be making a stop in Hawaii during the 2027 season, a domino of upcoming schedule changes. Will you miss Hawaii? And what was your favorite moment while touring the Aloha State?
Colgan: I will miss Hawaii. The golf course was fun and distinctive, and the atmospheres were aspirational in a way few events in the golf calendar are. In many ways, it feels like this is the moment we’ll look back on as the Tour’s defining shift towards commerce in the mid-2020s. Not a bad thing, but one worth noting!
Zack: It’s okay to miss Hawaii as a season opener and also know it wasn’t an economically viable tournament. We live in an era of sports that will squeeze a lot Things we like take them out and replace them with Things we still like, but are better funded. It is what it is. This is a strictly commercial move and I think we will look at it in five years in a completely accepting way. That said, the Tiger-Ernie battle from 2000 was one of the best mano-mano golf moments we’ve ever had.
Schrock: I will miss Hawaii for sure. Kapalua was a great course and gave everyone snow buried in the Northeast a chance. That being said, I completely understand why the decision was made from a financial standpoint. Granted, this decision feels like a defining moment in the PGA Tour’s profitable journey.
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