By: Max Bechtoldt
Team USA, consisting of Nelly Korda, Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang, wouldn’t have a guaranteed spot on the medal stand if the competition ended today, but it undoubtedly had the best overall performance of any country.
Vu was the true standout, playing what felt almost like Solheim Cup match play with leader Celine Boutier. The two players have the same strengths of course management and a strong short game. Vu was neck-and-neck with Boutier throughout much of the round, until a drive into the water on 18 derailed her round a bit. Vu had bogeys on both 16 and 18 and currently sits five back in a tie for third.
Korda sits at even par after a chaotic, and frankly a bit disappointing round. Yes, Korda really saved herself after a bad three over start on the first seven holes, rallying to make three birdies with no bogeys on the last 10. Her early round struggles came from the putter, unsurprisingly as it is the least consistent part of her game, but the manner these struggles came in made it worse. Her first few holes her speed was way off, turning into really bad mistakes. The good news is it should be an easy fix for the rest of the tournament. She is seven back, but we should all know better than to count Nelly out of anything at this point.
Zhang had a very ho-hum round, which I count as a good thing for her first Olympic experience. Unlike her teammates, Zhang doesn’t have the major championship winning experience to draw on, so for her to stay in it was an impressive win for me. Zhang, like Korda, is currently at even par after making bogey on her first hole, which was no doubt rattling. Overall she made three birdies and three bogeys, typical of a player who is really good at making pars.
Team USA is back in action Thursday early morning, with Vu in the early wave, and Korda and Zhang in the afternoon.
