By: Max Bechtoldt
When Nelly Korda stepped onto the first hole today at Upper Montclair Country Club, she was 10 strokes back of Rose Zhang, who was sitting at -13. Not exactly within reach. But Korda did exactly what she needed to in order to keep herself in position to win a record-breaking sixth tournament in a row.
Late in the second round, announcers Karen Stupples and Morgan Pressel both said they felt good about Korda’s position, and I agree. The only two players in her way are Zhang and Madelene Sagström, four strokes ahead of her. Having relatively few players in front is a decent position to be in.
Relative to the rest of the field, Korda has done her best damage as the tournaments go on this season. That was true today, as her bogey-free -6 was terrific in the difficult conditions.
Korda’s game was ridiculously clean considering the cold weather and occasional rain. She had no bogeys and six birdies. She missed only two fairways and one green. Like yesterday, she once again had 31 putts. A bit misleading as she has been burning edges all week. If these putts start to fall, Korda will be winning once again.
Walking into the weekend with the lead was never going to happen considering her round one position, but this round chipped away just enough. If she can do the same Saturday, she should be in strong position to win once again. In two of her stroke play victories this season she has trailed by four or more strokes.
