Nelly Korda’s disastrous US Women’s Open round was shockingly relatable

LANCASTER, Pa. – Standing at the edge of the 9th green at Lancaster Country Club, moments after she stroked her final putt of the day, Nelly Korda opened her purple scorecard holder, looked down and sighed so deeply that the expansion of her ribcage was visible was just steps away.

Her shoulders rose. Then they sank. A big, fat 80 from the first round of the US Women’s Open was staring back at her, and the sight of her seven-time bogey 10 at the start of the round probably sent shivers down her spine again.

The world number 1 did not look like himself on Thursday. She has won six tournaments in seven starts on the LPGA Tour this season, including the first major, the Chevron Championship. She managed to win trophies with her B game. But Korda still collapsed despite this US Open test. She didn’t have it. It would take an all-time second-round pick on a tough lineup to even think about making the cut.

“I’m human,” Korda said after signing off on her score of 10 over par. “I’m going to have bad days. I’ve been playing really solid golf so far. Today was just a bad day. That’s all I can say.”

There wasn’t much more to it than that. Korda’s game eluded her on a golf course that requires precision and control. It started after her third tee shot of the day, on the downhill 161-yard par-3 12th, which one player described as a “nowhere to miss” hole. Korda learned that the hard way.

After waiting at the tee box for more than 25 minutes, Korda’s group had seen everything. Ingrid Lindblad, the No. 1 amateur in the world, threw one into the creek near the green. Gaby Lopez caught a gust of wind so strong that her ball landed right in front of the same hazard. When the green finally cleared, Korda decided to use the information she had gathered during the excruciatingly long delay. She clubbed, even making sure to play her ball a club-length behind the markers for good measure, and fired a 6-iron into the back bunker. The ball was safe. But not for long.

With a blade nestled awkwardly beneath her ball in the sand, Korda’s shot never had a chance to come to rest on the slippery, backward-sloping putting surface. Her ball fell into the water. She dropped across the winding creek. One penalty. She chipped and her ball rolled back into the water – again. Two penalty shots. Another drop. Another chip in the creek. Three penalty shots. With her third chip she finally went long into the cup.

Two wells. A 10 on the scorecard.

Nelly Korda, world number 1 women’s golfer, scores a 10 (!) on the par-3 12th at the US Women’s Open #One of us pic.twitter.com/pknN91pLKT

– Heavens! (@HeavenFX) May 30, 2024

Korda gasped for air for the rest of the day. Pars felt like small victories. The careless mistakes continued to sting and her pace of play was noticeably higher.

“I just didn’t want to shoot 80, and I kept making bogeys,” Korda said, suddenly remembering her recent history at this championship. “My last two rounds at the US Women’s Open were not good. I finished at Pebble on Sunday, I think I shot 81, and today I shot 80.

Korda’s first nine total rose so high that the flag bearer running with her group struggled to find the correct number cards that reflected her score next to her name, leaving the place briefly empty, to the confusion of many spectators. She finished her first nine with a 10-over 45.

Though amazed by Korda’s play — and sometimes silent as she dropped her driver to the ground after off-line tee shots — those same spectators never left. They turned out in droves on Thursday morning to watch the world No. 1 walk the narrow fairways of Lancaster, a crowd that befitted her new status in the game but wasn’t always the case due to location or other external factors. After catching wind of her seven-time bogey, a local mother and daughter rushed to the course, hoping to catch a glimpse of Korda before she potentially missed the weekend.

Korda’s robust gallery was by far the largest of the morning wave, and members clapped in awe at her brilliance as much as they gave her words of encouragement when she somehow saved a back-nine 35 with three birdies.

The battle for world number 1 on Thursday at Lancaster was as recognizable as it can be. This game is fickle. It’s maddening. Sometimes it makes no sense. Sometimes it can feel like a breeze. And no one has understood the latter better than Korda, who has been at the top of the rankings for almost three months. But she is also aware that that feeling in this sport doesn’t last forever, even for the best player in the world.

On Tuesday, Korda spoke about the phenomenon, almost foreshadowing the massacre that would follow two days later. “I think that’s what makes this game so great. You can be on top of the world for the first two days, and then you wake up and think, what am I doing now? Why am I hitting it sideways? And you have no idea what’s going on,” Korda said. “It’s funny, golf is such a hard game.”

After signing her scorecard, answering exactly three questions about her round in the interview room and gathering with her team behind the clubhouse, Korda headed back to the shooting range. When she got to her spot on the far left edge of the hitting zone, she didn’t rush to grab a bat or pause to scroll through missed messages on her phone. She sat on the grass, her legs crossed. Korda remained silent for a few moments, alone.

She only needed a moment.

(Top photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)