Nelly Korda reflects on her runner-up finish at Erin Hills, proud of her play despite putts not dropping on the back nine.
TOWN OF ERIN – Following a first round at the U.S. Women’s Open in which she made 16 pars – including a run of 14 straight – with one birdie against one bogey, world No. 1 Nelly Korda admitted she grew a little frustrated as her ball striking would have (should have?) lent to a better opening round score of even par 72.
Patience, she said, was key.
That paid off during her second round at Erin Hills on May 30, as the world’s No. 1 player made seven birdies against two bogeys to card a 5-under 67.
“I’ve been pretty good with it,” she said. “I’m not riding the roller coaster like sometimes I do. I’ve been just trying to be very level-headed and just know if I make a mistake that I can bounce back.”
It was her lowest career round in a U.S. Women’s Open, an event she said she has had a “complicated” relationship with.
That was good enough to rocket her up the leader board into a tie for second place when she finished her round.
She has never been inside the top 5 of the U.S. Women’s Open leader board after any of her 36 career rounds. She has never contended in any of her previous 10 starts and her best finish was a tie for eighth in 2022.
Korda’s putting was her Achilles heel in the first round, as she needed 33 strokes on the putting surface – which was tied for 103rd after the round. That changed during her second round, as she needed 30, which was tied for 30th on the day.
