Nelly Korda’s bid to maintain her incredible run of form unravelled after just three holes of the opening round at the US Women’s Open.
Korda was a massive favourite to secure her third major title at Lancaster Country Club in Philadelphia after winning six of her last seven events.
However, having started with a bogey on the 10th, the world No 1 ran up a septuple-bogey 10 on the par-three 12th after hitting three balls into the water, and eventually finished 10 over par for her round and already struggling just to make the cut.
Japan’s Yuka Saso leads by one shot following a difficult first round. She was one of just four players to break par on Thursday, carding a two-under 68.
“I just didn’t play well today,” Korda said. “I didn’t hit it good, I found myself in the rough a lot – making a 10 on a par-three will definitely not do you any good at a US Open.
“I started off really poorly but played pretty well on the back nine. But overall, just a bad day in the office.
“My last two rounds in the US Women’s Open have not been good. I ended Sunday at Pebble [Beach] I think shooting 81, 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.”
The 12th hole had the markings of a problem. It measures 161 yards down the hill to a green which slopes from back to front and has a stream in front of it. The pin was at the front, where the green pitches more severely towards the water.
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Highlights from day one of the 2024 US Women’s Open at the Lancaster Country Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
When Korda’s group reached the hole, there were two other groups on the tee waiting to play and when she did eventually get to tee off, her shot bounced over the green into a bunker.
Korda splashed it out of the sand with too much pace, and it rolled past the pin and kept going down the slope into the water. She took a penalty drop on the other side of the stream and hit a low pitch that hit the bank and rolled back into the water.
Another penalty drop followed and Korda’s next pitch flew to the front of the green, and rolled back again into the water, leaving her slumped into a crouch.
Korda dropped a third time and hit a pitch which flew to the hole and rolled about eight feet past it. She missed the putt and took a septuple-bogey 10.
Korda began her round with a bogey when she did not have enough club from 160 yards away. Her ball landed just short of the green and rolled some 35 yards down a steep hill.
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We take a look at Korda’s incredible season so far
The 25-year-old carded a further five bogeys in a first-round total of 80, with birdies on the 12th, 16th and 17th holes providing a modicum of solace for her.
Korda’s dominant run this season includes her second major victory at the Chevron Championship, but she admitted in her pre-tournament press conference that she was expecting to face a “beast of a course” this week.
Nelly Korda endured a difficult first round at the US Open
“I’m slightly in shock, actually,” former Women’s Open champion Catriona Matthew told Sky Sports. “It is a tough start, starting just off the back nine, but I think that will be a real body blow for her.
“Ten on a par-three and going in as a heavy favourite, it’s going to be a body blow and a real struggle to come back from it.
“It’s been an Annika Sorenstam or Tiger Woods-type season [for Korda], and I think that’s why we’re all so in a state of shock at her start.”
Watch the US Women’s Open live on Sky Sports from Thursday, May 30; Stream the US Women’s Open on NOW
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