At this time last year, World No. 1 Nelly Korda entered the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year on fire. Korda had won four consecutive tournaments and went on to make it five by winning the Chevron Championship. It was one of the best runs in either men’s or women’s golf anyone has seen before.
What a difference a year makes.
Following Thursday’s opening round, Korda sits tied for 117th after signing for a 5-over 77.
She opened her day carding four straight bogeys through the first six holes. Despite getting one back on eight, she played her back nine at 2-over to enter the clubhouse in an unfamiliar situation: out of contention.
Meanwhile, Korean golfer Haeran Ryu and China’s Yan Liu each posted a solid 7-under 65 round to share the lead. For all intents and purposes, Korda’s chances at repeating are gone. Even making the cut is going to be difficult.
With half the field on the course Friday morning, the projected cut sits at 1-over. Korda would need to shoot 68 or lower just to make the weekend. As great of a golfer as she is, maybe we should have all seen this coming.
Nelly Korda is yet to win on the LPGA Tour this year. She kept her 2024 momentum going into the season’s first tournament, finishing solo second at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. But since then, she has just one top 10 finish (Founders Cup).
Last year, the Bradenton, Florida native won a whopping seven times. That included the LPGA Drive On Championship, Fir Hills Seri Pak, Ford Championship, and T-Mobile Match Play entering the Chevron. She would go on to capture the Mizuho Americas Open and the ANNIKA, completing one of the most dominant season’s in recent history.
Her play was so impressive, it was often compared to what Scottie Scheffler was doing on the PGA Tour. Scheffler won his second Masters title and nine times overall in 2024. But even he did not win five tournaments in a row.
But golf is a humbling sport and Korda is being reminded of that this week.
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