Nelly Korda holed out three short shots on the par-3 12th green on the third hole of the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday to reach 10.
It was a devastating start for the No. 1 player in women’s golf at Lancaster Country Club, a course that’s already so difficult that birdies are hard to come by.
Korda walked off the green, took off his mask, put his hand to his forehead for a few seconds, then walked to the next tee. The video crew fixed the camera on the walk scorer, and the “+1” next to her name changed to “+8.”
Hole 12 – Korda starts her round on No. 10 – questionable marker. The green follows the hillside for 161 yards and slopes from back to front with a creek in front. The flagstick is in the front and the green slopes more toward the water.
When Korda’s team arrived at the hole, there were two other teams on the tee waiting to play.
Her tee shot bounced over the green and into a bunker. Korda splashed the ball out of the sand at too much speed, and the ball rolled over the flagpole and continued down the slope into the water. She took the penalty on the other side of the stream, hitting the bank and rolling back into the water.
She received another penalty. Her next ball sailed to the green and rolled back into the water. Korda hunkered down, shocked that the U.S. Women’s Open had eluded her just as she started playing.
Korda dropped the ball for the third time, and the ball flew into the hole and rolled about 8 feet. She missed the putt and had seven bogeys on 10 strokes.
It’s a tough day on the golf course: Nelly Korda, the all-time No. 1 player with six wins in seven starts, makes seven bogeys on the third hole of the day at the U.S. Open 10 shots. pic.twitter.com/Mlj3tKM2It
— Bryan Amen Graham (@BryanAGraham) May 30, 2024
Korda started her round with a bogey when she didn’t have enough clubs from 160 yards out. Her ball landed near the green, rolling down a steep hill about 35 yards.
She is the overwhelming favorite heading into the biggest event on the LPGA schedule, having won six of the last seven starts. That included the Chevron Championship, the first major of the year, where she tied an LPGA record with her fifth consecutive win.
Korda has only two top-10 finishes at the U.S. Women’s Open, which is known as golf’s toughest test and has a difficult setup.
