Nelly Korda at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Nelly Korda headlines a star-studded list of MCs at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Nelly Korda arrived at the tee of Lancaster Country Club’s par-4 18th knowing she needed birdie to make the cut.
That’s not where anyone expected her to be entering the week; Korda arrived in Pennsylvania on a historic heater, with wins in six of her previous seven starts. It felt more likely that she’d lift the trophy than miss the weekend.
Still, after what had happened Thursday — a shocking septuple-bogey 10 on the third hole of an opening-round 80 — it took an inspiring charge just to get this close. Korda had begun her second round with bogey but had played splendidly since then, reeling off birdies at 7-8-9 to make the weekend a realistic possibility. A birdie at No. 18 would cap off a remarkable comeback. Get to Saturday and who knows what could happen next?
But Korda’s tee shot went left directly off the club face. She turned away in disgust, turning back only to shout “Fore!” (props for that, by the way) as the ball tumbled toward the crowd. There’s no good news in that shaggy left rough, so that was effectively it. Her U.S. Women’s Open was over. By the time she tapped in for bogey, it was official: She won’t win this event or even play the final two days. Her made-cut streak is over, too, after nearly a year. Women’s golf’s biggest weekend will be without its biggest star.
