JERSEY CITY, N.J. — If you can’t believe what’s happening at the Mizuho Americas Open right now, then you haven’t watched Nelly Korda compete in 2024. The 25-year-old currently holds a two-shot lead at Liberty National Golf Club, recording a three-day total of 13-under in damp, challenging conditions to put herself in position to collect a sixth title in her last seven LPGA Tour starts.
After recording a 2-under 70 in the opening round, Korda bettered herself by two shots in the second round, carding a near-perfect, 4-under 68 on Friday in Jersey City, N.J., a round that saw her make one bogey and five birdies at Liberty National.
While the conditions on day three were mild at the start, the drizzle picked up and turned into a steady shower as the day wore on, with the cold and damp turning into persistent nuisances for the final few groups. But Korda, who captured the second and third titles of her five-tournament winning streak in less-than-ideal weather, wasn’t bothered by the increasingly dreary day in the Garden State.
“I think you just have to look at it that everyone is playing through it as well,” said Korda. “You just got to tough it out. You're out here, you're enjoying yourself. You're doing what you love for a living. No matter what the conditions are, you have to put that aside and take it a shot at a time.”
And that’s exactly what Korda did in the third round. She grabbed an almost immediate birdie on the par-3 2nd hole to jumpstart her day, making another birdie on the par-3 4th hole to move to 8-under overall. The 13-time LPGA Tour winner picked up a birdie on hole seven before parring out to turn in 33 and then struck again on the par-5 10th hole to get to double-digits under par.
Korda birdied the 13th hole to move to 11-under total and recorded a one-two punch of birdies on 15 and 16 before ultimately parring out to post a 7-under 65, tying her lowest round of the season, which Korda last shot during the rainy final round of the Ford Championship presented by KCC in Gilbert, Ariz
“The first nine, the wind was down. It was sunny. It was warm,” said Korda. “By the time we got near the water on the back nine, the wind started picking up, and it started drizzling. It was the weather we kind of played in the first day, so made sure to stay warm and to take it a shot at a time.”
When her consecutive victory streak was broken by Rose Zhang last week at the Cognizant Founders Cup, some were questioning how Korda would bounce back from her aggravating finish at Upper Montclair Country Club. But the two-time major champion wasn’t even slightly concerned, knowing that with the way she is playing right now, no course or tournament is safe from the Korda buzzsaw, a self-confidence that was evident on Saturday at the Mizuho Americas Open.
“I have a great teammate in Jason (McDede, her caddie) that reassures me that I have to get back to it, or that if I get too ahead of myself it's just going to take me down a path I really don't need to go down,” said Korda. “That's our mentality, has been our mentality for the last couple of years. Obviously, there are weeks that you can do it much easier than others. When you're in the flow, everything seems to click in a sense.”
Even though she has made a ton of history already this season, having joined Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-2005) as just the third known player ever to win five consecutive LPGA Tour tournaments, Korda will make even more if she were to win again on Sunday at Liberty National.
A victory would make Korda the first player since Inbee Park in 2013 to win six or more tournaments in one season, and she’d be the eighth player since 1980 to do so, joining the likes of Betsy King, Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb, Lorena Ochoa, Beth Daniel and Yani Tseng, in addition to Park.
Korda would be the first American since Daniel in 1990 to win six or more times in a season, just one behind the 33-time LPGA Tour winner who captured seven victories that year.
She would also tie Sorenstam as the fastest player to win six events in a single season, matching the Swede who captured a sixth 2005 victory in her eighth start that year.
But all of that is just noise, unproductive chatter that Korda will work to block out in her now-famous bubble in the final round of the Mizuho Americas Open.
Would it be spectacular if Korda hoisted another trophy? Absolutely. However, like she said last week after her third-round 73 at the Cognizant Founders Cup, Korda is human and has had enough success on which to hang her hat already this season.
If she pulls out the victory tomorrow, great. But if it doesn’t happen, Korda will just turn the page to another opportunity, knowing what a privilege it is to be in this position in the first place.
“I'm just out here taking the weather as it is and playing golf,” said the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1. “Everyone is going through it. Everyone is dealing with the situation at hand. You just got to put that aside and just go out there and enjoy yourself. Where I can take my opportunity, I will. This golf course is quite tough, especially if the conditions get tougher, so going to take my chances where I can and see how it goes.”
And if recent results are any indication, “seeing how it goes” could mean that Korda is once again bound for the winner’s circle at Liberty National Golf Club, something that wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who follows the LPGA Tour.
)
)
)
)
