World No. 1 Nelly Korda shed some emotion after a very tough day at the LPGA Championship led to a third straight missed cut.
After winning the Chevron Championship – one of five women’s golf majors – in April, she has missed the cut at the next two majors: the US Women’s Open and this weekend’s LPGA.
Korda entered the second round at Sahalee Golf Club in Washington state after shooting a three-under 69 the day before and sitting just one stroke behind then-leader Lexi Thompson.
But she collapsed in the second round with an 81, missing the cut. As a result, she was seen on camera releasing some emotion as she wiped away tears on the course.
That 81 is the worst round ever shot by a women’s world number one at a major championship.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda struggled at the LPGA Championship in Washington State
Korda let out some emotion after going from one shot behind the lead to missing the cut
“It’s only recently become golf for me,” Korda said. ‘No words for how I play now. I’m just going to go home and try to reset.’
While Korda struggled in the warm afternoon conditions that accelerated the tree-lined Sahalee Country Club, Sarah Schmelzel and Amy Yang shared the lead at 6-under 136. Schmelzel had a 67 in the morning and Yang shot 68 in the afternoon.
Korda bogeyed the first four holes and also dropped strokes on Nos. 6 and 9 in a front-nine 42. She bogeyed Nos. 11 and 14, had a double bogey on the 15 and made her only birdie of the day on 18.
Schmelzel, the 30-year-old Arizonan who was winless in six seasons on the LPGA Tour, made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole and stayed aggressive on the par-5 18th, hitting her 3-wood. came up short. the green and chipping to a foot for a tap-in birdie and the low round of the championship.
“Just staying really patient and aggressive off the tee was kind of our plan this week,” Schmelzel said. “I drove (the ball) really well, so luckily I was able to take advantage of the shorter irons I had today.”
Yang is looking for her first major title. Dealing with a problem, she had the only bogey-free round of the tournament.
The five-time LPGA winner had no trouble with the firmness of the poa annua greens in the afternoon, successfully chasing par on all eight attempts. She hit her third shot from 97 yards to 60 feet off a foot for birdie.
“The fairways are so tight,” Yang said. “It’s quite a challenge out there.”
Her second round 81 is the worst round by a world number one ever in a major
Thompson (72) was two strokes behind fellow major champions Jin Young Ko (68) and Hinako Shibuno (70).
Starting on the back nine, Thompson turned 3-under 33 to get to 7 under, but made a double bogey on the par-5 second hole. Her second shot missed left, forcing a punchout, and she three-putted for a 7. Thompson dropped another shot on the par-4 fourth.
The 29-year-old Thompson, who recently announced this season will be her final schedule, lost a playoff at the Meijer LPGA Classic last week. She has not won on the LPGA Tour since June 2019.
“You’re going to hit some bad shots and you might get punished by the trees,” Thompson said. “You just have to take your medicine, both when ejecting and when getting back into position.”
Hae Ran Ryu equaled the low round of the tournament with a 67 to reach 3 under with Miyu Yamashita (70) and Leona Maguire (71),
“The course is getting a lot firmer,” Maguire said. “It’s quite dried out.”
Brooke Henderson, who won the Women’s PGA the last time it was played in Sahalee in 2016, shot 72 and was 1 over.