A graduate of the LPGA Q Series in December, the West Australian was making just the second start of her rookie season and made the cut on the number courtesy of back-to-back birdies late in Round 2 at Seville Golf and Country Club.

The 26-year-old shot 7-under 65 in the third round and when she made birdie at the par-3 eighth on Sunday, joined Korda at the top of the leaderboard at 15-under par.

A bogey on nine against Korda’s birdie would create a two-shot deficit that Naveed (66) was unable to rein in, Korda (65) going on to win her third consecutive tournament by two strokes.

Although denied a maiden professional win, Naveed’s runner-up cheque for $US206,791 is more than she won in total the past four years on the Epson Tour… by $104,429.

The result all but guarantees Naveed will keep her card for the 2025 season and will ensure she can set her own schedule for the remainder of the 2024 season.

“It’s an experience for me,” said Naveed, who spent four years at Pepperdine University after coming through the Como Secondary College program in Perth.

“It’s only my second tournament of the year, so just try to enjoy it as best as I can.”

It's getting interesting here at the #FordChampionship 👀
Naveed birdie putts for the co-lead ‼️ pic.twitter.com/0SAysfPtDd

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 31, 2024

Naveed shared the final-round stage with Korda, an experience in itself will serve her well in the months ahead.

She had five of her eight career top-10 finishes on the Epson Tour last year and said being in contention prepared her for a potentially life-changing weekend in Arizona.

“She’s an amazing player. To share the stage with her is really an honour,” said Naveed.

“It was a great day. Just fell short, but, again, it’s an experience so we move on.

“I put myself in some positions last year where I was in the final groups and it is great experience.

“The Epson Tour is full of so much talent, and they’re just that one step away from the LPGA.”

At one point midway through Round 2, Hannah Green and Gabriela Ruffels were tied for the lead, Ruffels continuing her strong start with a tie for 13th, Green finishing tied for 21st.

Greg Chalmers ensured he’ll earn another start on the PGA TOUR Champions with a tie for ninth at The Galleri Classic at Rancho Mirage while Cam Davis was our best on the PGA TOUR, tied for 21st at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

Results

PGA TOUR
Texas Children’s Houston Open
Memorial Park Golf Course, Houston, Texas
1          Stephan Jaeger            69-66-66-67—268       $US1.638m
T21      Cam Davis                   68-71-68-67—274       $88,725
T64      Harrison Endycott        69-72-69-71—281       $19,383
T78      Ryan Fox (NZ)               71-70-73-71—285       $17,017
82        Aaron Baddeley           72-69-74-72—287       $16,471
MC       Jason Day                    72-70—142
MC       Rhein Gibson               72-71—143

DP World Tour
Hero Indian Open
DLF G&CC, New Delhi, India
1          Keita Nakajima             65-65-68-73—271       €354,956.18
MC       Tom Power Horan        71-73—144
MC       Elvis Smylie                  74-70—144
MC       Haydn Barron               74-71—145
MC       Kazuma Kobori (NZ)     78-71—149
MC       Deyen Lawson             76-74—150
MC       Sam Jones (NZ)            76-74—150
MC       John Lyras                    83-75—158
WD      Daniel Hillier (NZ)         74
WD      Andrew Martin             77
WD      David Micheluzzi          75

LPGA Tour
Ford Championship presented by KCC
Seville Golf and Country Club, Gilbert, Arizona
1          Nelly Korda                  66-68-69-65—268       $US337,500
2          Hira Naveed                 68-71-65-66—270       $206,791
T13      Gabriela Ruffels           64-70-70-69—273       $30,795
T13      Lydia Ko (NZ)                69-64-70-70—273       $30,795
T21      Hannah Green              69-61-75-69—274       $23,346
T45      Karis Davidson             66-69-71-72—278       $8,620
T52      Grace Kim                    66-69-70-74—279       $7,133
T56      Robyn Choi                  66-72-70-72—280       $6,227
MC       Stephanie Kyriacou      70-70—140
MC       Sarah Kemp                 69-74—143
MC       Minjee Lee                   68-76—144

Japan Golf Tour
Token Homemate Cup
Token Tado Country Club, Nagoya
1          Takumi Kanaya             67-65-64-65—261       ¥26m
T35      Brendan Jones             66-65-71-73—275       ¥689,000
MC       Anthony Quayle           71-70– 141
MC       Brad Kennedy              70-71—141
MC       Michael Hendry (NZ)    70-72—142

PGA TOUR Americas
Totalplay Championship
Atlas Country Club, Guadalajara, Mexico
1          José de Jesús Rodríguez           68-65-67-70—270
T10      Charlie Hillier (NZ)                    69-65-74-65—273
T39      Harry Hillier (NZ)                      71-69-72-67—279
MC       Jason Hong                             72-70—142

PGA TOUR Champions
The Galleri Classic
Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, California
1          Retief Goosen              66-68-69—203
T2        Steven Alker (NZ)         66-68-70—204
T9        Greg Chalmers             69-70-69—208
T26      Steve Allan                   72-72-70—214
T26      Mark Hensby               72-68-74—214
T35      David Bransdon           72-75-68—215
T39      Richard Green              68-77-71—216
T55      Rod Pampling              70-77-72—219
T60      Michael Wright            74-74-72—220
T73      Stuart Appleby             75-78-73—226