Korda has found her game just in time to climb the leaderboard on moving day at the LPGA Tour Championship.
Nelly Korda had climbed into contention Saturday at the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship. However, two costly mistakes late in her round pushed her just out of the hunt. She carded a 6-under 66 to sit at 14-under through three days of play.
The former No. 1 player in the world held a ton of momentum throughout the third round. Her biggest surge of confidence came when she made a mind-blowing ace on the par-3 8th.
Her hole-in-one came after making two birdies on holes one and six to make the turn at 32.
NELLY. KORDA. ACE. @nellykorda pic.twitter.com/Yjw6DyenLe
— LPGA (@LPGA) November 18, 2023
That ace reminded fans how good she is, giving fans flashbacks of when Korda dominated the sport.
It sparked comeback comments as the younger Korda sister hasn’t been her best this season. Illnesses and injuries have kept Korda out of the spotlight.
good afternoon to the nelly korda comeback era and the nelly korda comeback era only
— Jordan Perez (@jrdnprz) November 18, 2023
Nelly Korda’s golf swing does things to me
— eniggama (@wifiabuser) November 18, 2023
Korda has one of the prettiest swings on the LPGA Tour. People marvel over it and want to find a way to mimic it.
The LPGA’s featured group coverage this week on ESPN+ was a nice touch for viewers. It was the first tournament ESPN broadcasted after they signed a groundbreaking streaming deal through the 2025 season.
This whole featured group experiment is really working @LPGA.
— Will Haskett (@willhaskett) November 18, 2023
Had @ThePCreamer last year with an Ace in Cincy and now @NellyKorda’s second ever dunk today.
https://t.co/nt42IFmInu
Common Nelly W https://t.co/ohQ4LPiNfu
— Kyle (@kylefromvista) November 18, 2023
People love Korda, and they notice any time she does something remarkable. When she is successful, women’s golf seems better. Korda is a top talent when she is healthy, and Saturday’s round showed glimpses of that greatness.
After her hole-in-one, Korda picked up two more birdies on the par-3 12th and par-5 14th to get to 14-under. She stumbled on 15 and 16, making bogey on both holes, but Korda didn’t let it affect her.
The eight-time LPGA winner made back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 to return to 14-under. While she finished strong, it probably won’t be enough for her to catch the leaders on Sunday.
Amy Yang and Hasa Nataoka are both 20-under with a few holes left to play Saturday.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
