Nelly Korda even par to start Women's PGA championship
While Korda said she doesn't feel pain hitting shots, the two-time major champion said she has pain 'just with rotation' of her neck and that it is hard to get comfortable to sleep at night.
'It's better, yeah. Getting better every day, which is nice,' she said. 'Just because I injured it last year, whenever I do injure my neck it takes a little bit longer than normal. I kind of tweaked it before my round with Ariya (Jutanugarn) in Vegas this year, during the night I couldn't move then, so thankfully it wasn't as bad as that day. ... Just takes me like a week to kind of recover when I tweak my neck now.'
Korda late last year skipped two tournaments during the LPGA's Asia swing because of a minor neck injury, and that loss to Jutanugarn in match play was in April. Korda said earlier this week that her neck 'went into a full spasm' after hitting a shot out of the rough during a practice round at the Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco on Monday, before skipping the champions dinner that night.
In the first round of the season's third major, Korda had two birdies and two bogeys. She was four shots behind Jeeno Thitikul, the world's No. 2-ranked player who was in the same group and the early leader at four-under 68.
'Overall I mean, even par to start the major ... it was windier in the morning than I thought it would be. So played a little tougher. Yeah, I'm pretty happy with my first round in the conditions,' Korda said. 'It was pretty windy. It was hot. It definitely takes a toll on you, the Texas heat. So happy with my position. I haven't even really looked at the leaderboard, to be honest.'
Korda opened with seven consecutive pars, including at the 317-yard, par-four seventh hole, where she hit a 294-yard drive into a valley just short of the green. Her initial pitch from there ricocheted off the edge of the green and rolled back down the slope to where she was. Korda hit her next shot to two feet and saved par.
On the par-three eighth, Korda's tee shot went over the green to set up her first bogey. She got free relief after her approach at the par-five ninth went right and settled next to a temporary structure, and she pitched to 3 1/2 feet and made the birdie putt.
'It's great to rebound with a birdie. Wasn't sure where to drop. The grass was like pavement. It was so firm, it's been walked on a lot,' Korda said. 'Whenever you get to bounce back with a birdie and you get to kind of have in a sense a fresh start for the next nine holes, that's always good.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
17 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Lottie Woad makes a big impression and already is the talk of women's golf
The Women's Scottish Open wasn't the first time Lottie Woad made an immediate impression. Florida State coach Amy Bond had been recruiting the English girl with a strong work ethic, limited to chatting online and studying the swings Woad posted on social media because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When travel restrictions loosened, Bond headed to Carnoustie for the British Girls Amateur. 'The first hole I saw her, she made birdie. I knew we were going to have a great relationship,' Bond recalled with a laugh. Woad went on to a 7-and-6 victory on the links reputed to be as tough as any. The next week she arrived on the Florida State campus for the first time to begin a distinguished college career. Woad won five times, set the school record for career scoring average, reached No. 1 in the women's world amateur ranking and finished in the top 10 in 25 of her 30 tournaments. What first brought her acclaim was a Saturday at the home of the Masters, where Woad birdied three of her last four holes to win the Augusta National Women's Amateur. Now she is the talk of women's golf, winning the Women's Scottish Open in her professional debut with such precision the 21-year-old Woad made it look routine. 'I guess that's a pretty good first week at work,' Woad posted on social media. Next up is the Women's British Open this week at Royal Porthcawl in Wales. Woad has been a professional for all of two weeks, and BetMGM Sportsbook already lists her as the favorite at +650, followed by Nelly Korda and Jeeno Thitikul, Nos. 1 and 2 in the women's world ranking. This could be the spark that women's golf needs. Korda is winless this year, surprising after her seven-win season in 2024. Rose Zhang, who also won an LPGA title in her pro debut in 2023, is trying to play and finish her degree at Stanford. LPGA Commissioner Craig Kessler seized on Woad's big moment by getting the final round of the Women's Scottish Open — available on streaming and then tape delay — live coverage on linear TV (CNBC). 'It's fun that everybody gets to see what I saw,' Bond said. She saw a player with a relentless work ethic who would often take an Uber to the course in the morning. Woad said she wanted to buy a car with her first check — $300,000 from the Women's Scottish Open — only to reveal Sunday she first needs a U.S. driver's license. She appears to be on the superhighway to success. It started earlier this month when Woad won the Women's Irish Open on the Ladies European Tour by six shots over Madelene Sagstrom, who earlier this year won the LPGA Match Play at Shadow Creek. The next week, she was leading in the final round of an LPGA major when Woad failed to birdie the par-5 18th at the Evian Championship and wound up missing a playoff by one shot. But a tie for third gave her the final point she needed in the LPGA Elite Amateur Pathway program to get an LPGA card, and it made sense for her to turn pro. Bond posted a series of photos when Woad decided to turn pro two weeks ago, including the day she signed with the Seminoles and when she first set foot on campus. She was with Woad in France and couldn't help but notice that she looked 'eerily comfortable.' 'Sometimes it can be a hard transition from amateur golf to professional golf,' Bond said. 'But she has great people around, her parents, her swing coach Luke Bone, who is phenomenal. You've got to have that for the ease of things to work out.' Ease was an appropriate description, for that's how it looked at Dundonald Links. Woad is plenty long off the tee. She is renowned for her elite wedge play, which Bond says she honed the last two years at Florida State. 'She keeps track of all that stuff every day,' Bond said. 'We have a set routine for different yardages, and she writes down everything. If she's trying to hit it 65 yards and hits it 68 or 72, she's writing it down to see if she can get it close.' Most remarkable about her win at the Women's Scottish Open — beyond making only three bogeys over 72 holes — was the composure she showed while playing the first two rounds with Korda and the high-charged Charley Hull. Staked to a two-shot lead in the final round, Hyo Joo Kim made a charge to tie for the lead. Woad eased on the accelerator and pulled away with four birdies on the last six holes. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Pretty good first week at work. That's how it looked at the end. Woad rapped in a final birdie, took the ball out of the cup and slid it into her pocket, offering a polite wave to the gallery. It had the look of someone who had been there before. Woad is 55-under par in her last three tournaments, a scoring average of 67.4. She now is No. 24 in the women's world ranking. She has the look of someone just getting started. ___ On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. More AP golf:
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
Angels get to deGrom and stop Rangers' 6-game win streak with 6-4 victory
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Newman, Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo homered to help the Los Angeles Angels beat Texas 6-4 on Monday night, snapping the Rangers' six-game win streak. Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 19th save. The 37-year-old Jansen hasn't allowed an earned run in 16 consecutive appearances, the longest active streak in the American League and the third-longest of his career.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Angels get to deGrom and stop Rangers' 6-game win streak with 6-4 victory
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Newman, Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo homered to help the Los Angeles Angels beat Texas 6-4 on Monday night, snapping the Rangers' six-game win streak. Kenley Jansen pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 19th save. The 37-year-old Jansen hasn't allowed an earned run in 16 consecutive appearances, the longest active streak in the American League and the third-longest of his career. Connor Brogdon (2-1) replaced Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz in the fifth and gave up one run in 1 2/3 innings. Kochanowicz, called up from Triple-A Salt Lake earlier in the day, allowed two runs — none earned — in 4 2/3 innings. Newman's two-run shot opened the scoring in the third, and Zach Neto added an RBI double in the fifth. Josh Jung hit a solo homer and Jonah Heim had an RBI single for the Rangers. Josh Smith and Corey Seager scored when Adolis García reached on an error by right fielder Gustavo Campero, who bobbled a routine flyball. Jacob deGrom (10-3), who was 6-0 in his previous 10 starts, gave up five runs and seven hits with eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner has allowed at least one home run in five consecutive games in the same season for the first time in his 12-year career. Key moment Ward's leadoff homer in the sixth gave the Angels the lead for good, and Rengifo added a two-run drive off reliever Jacob Webb to make it 6-3. Key stat Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The Angels, who beat Seattle 4-1 on Sunday, have won back-to-back games for the first time since defeating Arizona on July 11 and 12. Up next Patrick Corbin (6-7, 3.78 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for Texas on Tuesday against Yusei Kikuchi (4-7, 3.23) in the middle game of the series. ___ AP MLB:
