Newly named Player of the Year Nelly Korda hasn't played in a game in nearly two months, but watching Thursday's opener at the Pelicans, you never would have guessed that would happen. It should be.
She started with a 4-under 66, which was her highlight round. Chip in birdie at the end At the 18th hole.
“I pulled my 8-iron a little bit. I drilled it through the green and I practiced that chip a lot in the two practice rounds I played on the back nine,” Korda said of the holeout.
“It rolled perfectly. I'm glad I didn't putt.”
After tying for fifth at the Kroger Queen City Championship in September, Korda announced a neck injury that forced him to miss two tournaments other than the LPGA Asian Swing in Malaysia and South Korea. I no longer get it. It turned out that her neck injury was caused by a migraine that Korda had before the Solheim Cup.
“It was the first time [having one]. Until now. Yes,” Korda said.
“I had no idea what a migraine was. I was lucky I didn't know what a migraine was until then.”
After a great start Thursday with six birdies, she feels blessed to be back playing again. It was the third time this season that Korda opened with a 66 or less, and she went on to win the other two. Statistician Justin Ray.
However, she endured a tough stretch in the middle of the round, walking 18 holes for the first time since September. Korda played holes 8 through 13 at 2 over par.
“I hit a lot of really good shots at the beginning of the round, and I don't know what happened in the middle,” Korda said.
“So maybe I got a little tired or lost focus in the middle of the round, but I brought it home and talked about it. [my caddie] Jason talked about what he saw. It's kind of hard to see things from the angle he's standing at. We just talked and tried to make adjustments to finish the remaining few holes under par. ”
After bogeying the 13th hole and falling back to even par for the championship, Korda made four birdies over the final five holes for a score of 4 under. Talk about a strong finish.
“I'm pretty happy with how I played,” Korda said.
“I hit a few loose shots in the middle of the round, but other than that, it’s something I can work on.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
