Nelly Korda of the United States catches a ball on the third green during the first round of the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G 2024 at TPC River’s Bend on September 19, 2024 in Maineville, Ohio. MAINEVILLE, Ohio — Nelly Korda is showing no sign of fatigue early at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G.
Is she tired? Of course she is. Winning a Solheim Cup on home soil like Korda helped the U.S. Team do last week at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club takes a toll on a player’s energy, particularly when you are having as much fun as the 26-year-old did in Gainesville, Va.
But the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 is battling through her exhaustion in pursuit of a seventh 2024 LPGA Tour title at TPC River’s Bend, posting a bogey-free, 5-under 67 to sit two shots back of the lead held by Ashleigh Buhai at 7-under.
It was a steady day for the 14-time LPGA Tour winner, as Korda carded two birdies on the front nine on the par-4 2nd and par-5 8th holes and then picked up three birdies on the back nine on holes 11, 13 and 18. The 67 is her lowest round on the LPGA Tour since the two-time major champion recorded a 7-under 65 on day three of the Mizuho Americas Open, an event Korda went on to win by one shot over Hannah Green, and it was a first-round effort that she was proud of, particularly considering her low energy levels.
“It was good. I putted really well on the back nine. I hit a couple lips here and there,” said Korda, who hit 28 total putts on Thursday. “Overall, I’m never going to complain about a bogey-free round. It was a good first day out. It was definitely tough waking up this morning, but I do love competing, and I love being out here. Seeing all the fans come out too definitely motivates you.
“Everyone that played last week is going to be tired. I’m just trying to take it one step at a time, know that my energy levels aren’t the greatest, but I’m still motivated and I’m 100 percent.”
Korda is making her tournament debut this week at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, having skipped the previous two editions of the event that were held at Kenwood Country Club. It’s her 14th tournament of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in addition to the six wins she racked up in seven starts from January to May, Korda has earned two other top-10 results, tying for seventh at the Cognizant Founders Cup to end her streak of consecutive victories at five and then tying for second in her last LPGA Tour appearance at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews.
Many questioned Korda’s form after she missed three straight cuts in June, but that poor stretch has turned out to be just a lull for the world No. 1, who put together a couple of solid results in Europe and then played some incredible golf in the early matches in Virginia.
Much of that recent success can be traced back to Korda’s putter, as she made the switch from a square-backed putter to a TaylorMade Spider at the Old Course, a decision that has proven to be a good one considering the putts she has holed in recent weeks.
“It feels really nice. It’s something that you continue to work on,” said Korda when asked about her putting. “Everyone works on every part of their game, and sometimes when you work really hard on one part of your game it takes a while for it to show. It’s really nice for it to show now.”
With three rounds to go at TPC River’s Bend, Korda will be working to ride the momentum generated from her strong start at the Queen City Championship all the way to the winner’s circle on Sunday. But she is expecting some firmer conditions in the afternoon wave tomorrow and will look to make some quick adjustments in order to repeat her Thursday success on Friday in Maineville, Ohio.
“It’s funky. Some parts of the fairways are really soft,” said Korda. “If you hit into some parts. you won’t get any roll, but you’ll get a springboard all of a sudden. It depends on the bounce and where you hit it.
“I played in the afternoon (on Tuesday) and then I had a morning pro-am, so I got to see both sides of the day. That’s kind of what we were projecting – going to play a little softer, you could be a little more aggressive in the morning, and then the afternoon, they’re projecting pretty high temps today and tomorrow. It was definitely warming up, so it’s going to get firmer out here.”
