Nelly Korda’s disastrous major start reveals striking flaw in her game
LANCASTER, Pa. — Nelly Korda walked off Pebble Beach’s iconic 18th green last July and entered the scoring tent. She added up the numbers on her scorecard, double-checked to make sure they were correct and signed at the bottom. At that moment, it became official: Korda had posted the worst professional round of her U.S. Women’s Open career, a 10-over 80.
Ten months later, and 2,800 miles to the east, Korda duplicated that gaffe. The setting might’ve been different — the countryside of Pennsylvania instead of the shores of the Pacific — but the result was all the same.
This time, the sting must hurt worse than most. Korda entered this year’s U.S. Women’s Open in the midst of a historic season, one that saw her win six tournaments in eight starts (including a major!). But on the opening Thursday of the biggest event in women’s golf, all she could muster was another 10-over 80.
“Just a bad day in the office,” Korda said matter of factly. “I just kept making bogeys.”