Defending champion and world No. 1 Nelly Korda is in a tie for the lead after two rounds at the Mizuho Americas Open, locked up with Somi Lee and Andrea Lee.
Korda came into the day four strokes back of the No. 2 player in the world Jeeno Thitikul, and fell back further with sloppy bogeys on her eighth and ninth holes of the day. She really pulled it together on her second nine though, giving her best all around nine-hole performance of the season.
Korda was even par making the turn, but looked like the player that she was in early 2024 on the back, making four birdies with no bogeys to bring in a -4 round in brutally difficult conditions. Korda has always thrived, especially as of late, in the toughest conditions. With the rain coming down, the putter heated up as she gave her best performance with the flat stick on the year in her last nine holes.
Korda hit a relatively low nine fairways and 13 greens, but was precise when she needed it and had just 28 putts. Any time Korda is below 30 putts in a round, she will likely turn in a fantastic score.
Nelly is still looking for her first win on the season, but Liberty National suits her game well, and she really seemed to hit her stride in the last two hours of the round.
Somi Lee is a player who has put herself in contention consistently but hasn’t been quite able to finish. That showed Friday where she had a commanding lead, but bogeyed two of her last three holes. She will have to bring her game back if she wants a chance at outplaying the top ranked player in the world this weekend.
