Nelly Korda hasn’t won a major yet. Yet, perhaps, is the operative word.
At this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, it’s the younger Korda sister who comes in with all the momentum, having captured the Meijer LPGA Classic Sunday by two shots after shooting a blistering four-round total of 25-under.
That score included an 11-birdie effort on Saturday on route to a 62, Korda’s lowest-ever score on the LPGA Tour.
“Easy, I guess,” said Korda when asked to describe her sizzing 62. “I guess everything was falling and I was just on a roll. You don't take these days for granted.”
Leona Maguire finished at 23-under last week while In Gee Chun and Brittany Altomare rounded out the top five in Michigan with their 21-under totals.
“I had three bogey-free rounds the last three days, so I think pretty much I got good, like, positive energy from the bogey-free rounds,” said Chun. “I just want to keep going next week.”
Korda is the only two-time winner on the LPGA Tour this season (older sister Jessica notched a victory herself earlier in the year) but said Sunday she will try to refocus and reset prior to this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Atlanta.
While it’s unlikely those low scores will be found at the Atlanta Athletic Club this week, Korda certainly could be considered the favorite – even though she doesn’t quite think so.
“Every week is a little different,” said Korda, “so hopefully I carry it into next week.”
Some past KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winners are coming into Atlanta looking eagerly to put last week’s event in the rear-view mirror.
Both Brooke Henderson (2016) and Sung-Hyun Park (2018) missed the cut at the Meijer LPGA Classic. Henderson was the defending champion, however, due to some paperwork issues with her sister Brittany, she had to utilize a different caddie last week for the first time in five years. It remains To Be Determined if Brittany will be able to grab the bag this week at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Park, meanwhile, has struggled in 2021. She’s made only four cuts and her best finish was a tie for 34th in March.
Danielle Kang, who won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in 2017, has had a solid year to this point – with five top-10 finishes. She took last week off and should be well-rested as she looks for her first victory of the season – and no better place than at a major championship.
One winner who is awfully familiar with success – and has shown no signs of slowing down in 2021 – is Inbee Park.
Park, who captured three straight KPMG Women’s PGA Championships from 2013-2015, also has six top-10 finishes on the season, like Kang. Park won her first start of the year, the KIA Classic in March, and has just one finish outside the top 20 all season long. She, like Kang, took last week off as well.
So, whether a golfer is coming into the week after a record-low score like Nelly Korda, or if a golfer is a past KPMG Women’s PGA Champion coming into Atlanta off a week of rest, this week’s major marks a big-time opportunity for success.
