LANCASTER, Pa. — The first-round conditions were challenging for the early wave at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally, and while there were a few under-par scores, many walked off their final hole at Lancaster Country Club wondering just what had happened on Thursday in Pennsylvania.
One of those players was Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda, who had a difficult start to her bid for a seventh 2024 LPGA Tour victory. She bogeyed her first hole of the day and then recorded a 10 on the par-3 12th, hitting three shots into the water on the 161-yard hole.
She closed out her back nine with bogeys on the 15th and 17th holes to turn in 45 but ultimately righted the ship on her closing nine, the front nine at Lancaster Country Club. Korda birdied the par-4 3rd, par-5 7th and par-3 8th holes, making bogeys on Nos. 5, 6 and 9 to shoot even-par and post a 10-over 80, her highest score on the LPGA Tour since the final round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, where she also recorded an 80.
It was a disappointing round for the 25-year-old, but Korda was trying to give herself some grace on Thursday afternoon in one of the tougher moments she’s had on the golf course in quite some time.
“I didn't really want to shoot 80, and I just kept making bogeys,” said Korda. “My last two rounds in the U.S. Women's Open have not been good. I ended Sunday at Pebble shooting (80), and then today I shot 80. I'm human. I'm going to have bad days. I played some really solid golf up to this point. Today was just a bad day. That's all I can say.”
Korda was not alone in her struggles in the first round as the scoring average for the morning draw was 74.58, nearly five shots over par. Pretty much every member of the 156-player field knew Lancaster Country Club was going to present one of the toughest tests of the season, with many referring to the venue as a “beast,” but a select few figured out how to tame the dragon on day one.
LPGA Tour members Andrea Lee and Wichanee Meechai along with French amateur Adela Cernousek were the only three players to record under-par scores in the morning draw on Thursday. Lee went out in 34 on her opening nine, making a bogey on the par-4 5th hole and then erasing her mistake with a birdie on the par-5 7th hole, ultimately grabbing one more birdie on the ninth to turn in 1-under.
The LPGA Tour winner gave that shot back with a bogey on 10, and Lee then had the highlight of her round on the 12th hole, making a nearly 30-foot birdie putt on the challenging par 3. She then bogeyed the 15th and rolled in an 11-footer for birdie on 18 to post a 69, an effort Lee was pleased with considering how difficult the course played in the first round.
“It was definitely tough out there today. I knew it as soon as I walked out of the hotel,” said Lee. “I knew it was going to be a grind out there. This golf course is such a test. It's a beast of a golf course, and par is a really good score out here. I tried to plot my way around the golf course as best I could and hit as many fairways and greens as possible. Managed to get a few putts to drop today so that was nice.”
Only four players remained at even par after the conclusion of the early rounds at Lancaster Country Club, the most notable of which are major winner Sei Young Kim and 2024 LPGA Tour rookie Alexandra Forsterling. The highlight of the morning was an ace from 2020 AIG Women's Open champion Sophia Popov, who made her hole-in-one on the par-3 8th hole at Lancaster Country Club. Popov finished with a 2-over 72 in her opening round.
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