Nelly Korda took four steps, then turned slightly back to glance at the heart of her rival. She took two more steps, you could stop imagining.
A day earlier, during the U.S. Women’s Open’s first round, it’d been some scene on the par-3 12th at Lancaster Country Club. Korda, the unstoppable force, the world No. 1, the winner of six of her past seven tournaments. Versus the 161-yard immovable object, a hole that features all kinds of gadgets — tee shot atop a hill, water in front of the green, bunkers in back, back-to-front sloping green, false front.
Things were over fast. A tee shot to the sand. Shot into the water. Pitch shot that rolled back into the water. A second pitch shot that rolled back into the water. Korda took a 10. Septuple bogey. She finished with an 80.
Nearly. Somehow it stayed dry. Her 8-iron shot on the hole playing to 174 yards on Friday dropped just over the drink, trickled backward, then impossibly stopped, thanks to someone who might have forgotten to cut a blade of grass or two. Korda was safe.
