The world No.1 – looking for a seventh win in her last eight starts – carded a septuple-bogey ten on the controversial par-3 12th.
But for all of Korda’s dominant brilliance, she found herself in a familiar position.
In signing for a round of ten-over-par at Lancaster Country Club, Korda fired a round in the 80s for successive championships.
The 25-year-old ended last year’s US Women’s Open with an eight-over-par finale at Pebble Beach, and speaking on Golf Central’s Live from the US Women’s Open, analyst Brandel Chamblee called out Korda’s strategy. “You get it in the rough, you gotta get out of the rough,” he said. “As we look at Nelly Korda, when she does get in trouble, she’s got to get out of trouble.
“She’s got so many skills. Get back in play, make the bogey and move on.”
Korda’s dominant run this season includes her second major victory in 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.
