JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Defending champion Nelly Korda is tied for the lead heading into the weekend at the Mizuho Americas Open after posting a 4-under 68 in round two at Liberty National Golf Club.
The current Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 began her title defense with a 68, making two bogeys and six birdies during the first round in Jersey City, N.J., and then had to battle some chilly, soggy conditions on Friday to climb into contention with 36 holes remaining. She made a quick birdie on the par-3 11th hole to move to 5-under early in her second round and picked up another birdie on the par-3 14th hole to get to 6-under for the tournament.
Korda’s momentum was stalled by a pair of back-to-back bogeys that came on the par-4 17th and par-4 18th holes, two missteps that dropped her back to even-par for the round making the turn, but the 15-time LPGA Tour winner punched back at this difficult venue, landing a birdie on the par-5 1st hole to get back to 5-under overall.
Korda then threw a one-two punch of birdies on par-4 5th and par-5 6th holes to once again sit at 7-under with three holes remaining. She parred seven before making one last birdie on the par-5 8th hole and parring nine to polish off her 68 and now sits in a three-way tie for the lead alongside Andrea Lee and Somi Lee with weekend golf on tap in the Garden State.
“Obviously, the birdie on No. 1 after bogeying my last two holes was a nice momentum shift,” Korda said. “After making two bogeys in a row, you have to reset and know that you have nine more holes to go, and there are some opportunities out there even with the tricky conditions. So I had a little bit of a mental reset, and it worked.”
