After one round at the 2025 Ford Championship, world No. 1 Nelly Korda is in good position, sitting four strokes back at -5.
While sitting so far back of leader Charley Hull, and sitting in a tie for 17th place, more context is needed to evaluate the round.
The heavy majority of the leaderboard played in the morning wave. Only two players from the afternoon, Pajaree Anannarukarn and Sarah Schmelzel, currently are better on the leaderboard. The intense sun and wind dried out the course, leading to tougher conditions. While Friday is not projected to be as hot, the conditions in the afternoon should once again be tougher.
Korda really found her groove on the back nine, it isn’t surprising she had some rust after a long break. Korda was only -1 on the front nine with two birdies and one bogey. She responded well on the back with birdies on 12-14. She also had a good eagle opportunity on the par 5 17, but settled for a birdie. She made an impressive par on 18 after a missed fairway and an approach shot that landed in the bunker. A solid sand shot and good putt should give her good momentum moving forward.
If you were to make a bet at the current moment, I would wager that the defending champion is a solid choice.
