Nelly Korda opened the KPMG Women's PGA Championship with a two-under 70 on Thursday. A double bogey on the par-4 16th at Hazeltine National kept the round from getting away from her, but she still finished seven strokes behind Ina Yoon.
Korda at Hazeltine National
Korda started early Thursday morning and turned in one under. She added birdies on 11, 13 and 15 before the 16th hole flipped the round into a tougher finish.
The 16th is a 378-yard par-4 that runs along Hazeltine Lake, with the water right and a creek left. Most of the green is guarded by water, and Korda said, "I just overturned it," after the tee shot put her in trouble. She also said, "It’s a pretty intimidating tee shot and I just didn’t really like the way I hit it off the start."
Ina Yoon's 63
Ina Yoon’s 63 set the pace after the first round. That left Korda in chase mode before Friday’s second round at 2:42 p.m. ET, with the gap between them set at seven shots.
There was still some forward movement in Korda’s round. She birdied three holes in a five-hole span before reaching 16, then took a drop, wedged on and three-putted from 35 feet for the double bogey that turned a solid card into a 70.
Korda said, "Honestly just made one bad swing, which ended up in a double," and added, "But overall, pretty happy with my day." That leaves the first-round math plain: her 70 against Yoon’s 63 is the difference between being in touch and starting Friday seven back, while Korda keeps chasing a result that would move her toward the first three majors of the season and a place in the LPGA Hall of Fame. Korda’s record chase at KPMG
