It was a dog Korda didn’t know at a coffee shop in Seattle.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda returns to action at this week’s Amundi Evian Championship. In fact, she’s already in France prepping for the tour’s fourth major after a dog bite left her sidelined.
After missing the cut at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the week only got worse for Korda after she was bitten by a dog over the weekend. Alison Lee, who suffered a serious dog bite in January, spoke to Korda about the incident and said during a recent press conference that it was a dog Korda didn’t know at a coffee shop in Seattle.
“I’m hoping for a speedy recovery for her,” said Lee at last week’s Aramaco Team Series event in London. Korda was scheduled to defend her title last week on the Ladies European Tour at Centurion Club but was forced to withdraw.
Lee, who was bitten by her boyfriend’s rescue dog, had to be hospitalized for several days after the wound on her hand became badly infected and required surgery. She said they chatted together about their symptoms.
Korda went on an absolute tear to start the season, winning six of her first eight starts. Since making a 10 on her third hole of the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, however, it’s been a different story. Korda has missed three consecutive cuts for the first time in her career. She shot 81 in the second round of the KPMG after beginning the day near the top of the leaderboard.
The 25-year-old Korda, a two-time major winner, has never contended at the Evian but finished in the top 10 there in her last two starts.
She will meet with the press on Wednesday in France following her pro-am round.
After Korda’s historic run earlier this year, who might be ready to start challenging her supremacy?
Nelly Korda was scheduled to compete in the LET’s Aramco Team Series event at the Centurion Club in London, a tournament she won last year by four strokes. But Korda was forced to the sideline by a dog bite and her status is uncertain as we approach the LPGA’s fourth major of the season, the Amundi Evian Championship, which will be held in France from July 11-14.
After Korda’s historic run earlier this year, who might be ready to start challenging her supremacy?
Our Beth Ann Nichols and NBC Sports’ Grant Boone have some ideas during this week’s “Big Pickle” podcast.
Listen to the episode here:
Subscribe, comment and tell a friend. As the women’s game continues to gain momentum, “The Big Pickle” will be sure to keep you informed, enlightened and entertained on everything LPGA.
For the second time this season, a dog bite has sidelined a prominent LPGA player.
For the second time this season, a dog bite has sidelined a prominent LPGA player. This time it’s World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who posted on Instagram that the incident took place last Saturday in Seattle.
“I regret to announce that I must withdraw from next week’s Ladies European Tour tournament in London,” Korda wrote. “I was bitten by a dog and need time to receive treatment and recover fully.”
Last week, Korda carded a shocking 81 on Friday of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club just outside Seattle, missing a third straight cut for the first time in her career.
Korda was scheduled to compete next week in the LET’s Aramco Team Series event at the Centurion Club in London, a tournament she won last year by four strokes.
The LPGA’s fourth major of the season, the Amundi Evian Championship, is the following week in France, July 11-14.
“I apologize to the LET, the sponsors and my fans for my absence,” Korda’s statement continued. “Thank you for your understanding, and I look forward to returning to the course soon.”
Alison Lee competes during the Evian Championship, an LPGA major golf tournament in Evian-les-Bains, French Alps, on July 28, 2023. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
American Alison Lee, the hottest player on tour at the end of the 2023 season, was bit by her boyfriend’s rescue dog, a black Pomeranian aptly named Bear, at the end of January. The ordeal landed Lee in the hospital where she ultimately required surgery to get rid of the infection.
The injury forced Lee to withdraw from the Aramco Saudi Ladies International, where she’d just won in the fall, as well as the Honda LPGA Thailand.
“I took my chances where I could and I played safe for the majority of the round,” Korda said.
SAMMAMISH, Wash. – Lexi Thompson isn’t done yet. Not yet a month removed from announcing her plans to step away from a full-time schedule after this season, Thompson finds herself holding the solo first-round lead at a major championship for the first time in her career. Twice she has held a share of the lead to open a major championship.
Thompson birdied the first three holes in Thursday’s opening round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship en route to a 4-under 68 at the stunning and shockingly narrow Sahalee Country Club. She’s one shot ahead of World No. 1 Nelly Korda and Patty Tavatanakit on a star-studded leaderboard. Ten players are two shots back.
“Just tried to stay in the moment out there and really visualize my shots and pick small targets and just commit to it,” said Thompson, who hasn’t won on tour since 2019 but came up just short in a playoff last week at the Meijer LPGA Classic.
It was the first week Thompson had veteran caddie Mark Wallington on the bag and she was noticeably upbeat. Thompson said the pair have had a great friendship on tour for years but had never worked together.
“We always have a good laugh with each other and really look for each other in a friendship when needed,” she said.
“So I was like, you know what? This sounds great. Let’s just work together and see how it does. No matter what, we’ll always have that friendship and bond. That will never leave us.”
Wallington’s positive vibe, she continued, is exactly what she’s needed.
It also helps that something clicked with her swing early last week at the Meijer that has enabled her to be “free-swinging Lexi.” She leads the field in strokes-gained approach.
“My swing has always been a bit fast,” she said. “A good solid tempo throughout the whole swing. Just seeing that draw out there, especially off the tee boxes. That’s always what I’ve done ever since I was little.”
Lexi Thompson of the United States talks with her caddie before hitting a tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 20, 2024, in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
For Korda, the pressures of a major championship melted away on the first tee when she looked over and saw her nephew, Greyson DelPrete, outside the ropes. Korda’s big sister Jessica arrived on Wednesday with her four-month-old son, but Nelly wasn’t sure exactly when they’d join her on the course at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
“His giggles just give me so much happiness,” said Korda, who opened with a 3-under 69 at Sahalee Country Club to hold the clubhouse lead.
Though she’s coming into the third major of the year off two consecutive missed cuts, Korda’s 2024 has been historically brilliant. With five consecutive victories and six overall, including her second career major, a victory this week would put her in rarified air.
Since 1970, only three Americans have won seven or more times on the LPGA in a single season. Beth Daniel was the most recent in 1990 with seven, while Nancy Lopez won nine (1978) and eight times (1979) in her first two seasons on the LPGA. Kathy Whitworth won seven times in 1973.
Korda’s opening 69 included three consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-15 and a double-bogey on the fourth after she made the turn. She closed with a birdie on the par-3 ninth to end on a high note.
“I took my chances where I could and I played safe for the majority of the round,” she said.
Nelly Korda of the United States hits a tee shot on the fifth hole during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 20, 2024, in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
When it comes to strategy, Korda is often reliant on long-time caddie Jason McDede — sometimes a little too reliant.
This week, she said, they decided that McDede would give her the number, how far she should land it, and then she would take it from there to feel more confident about each decision. Last week at a windy Meijer LPGA Classic, Korda struggled with going long on several approach shots in an opening 76.
“He’s going to disagree or agree,” said Korda of her chats with McDede, “but for the majority, it was a lot of agreeing today, so it was good.
While she missed the cut last week, Korda found something with the driver on Friday at the Meijer, which could prove massive this week.
“That’s the tough part about the golf course here,” she said. “If you don’t hit the fairway you don’t get to be aggressive. You can’t take your opportunities.”
Sahalee is undoubtedly a mental grind, and for some, like Allisen Corpuz, that’s a good thing. Corpuz opened with a 70, joining a host of players at 2 under including, Leona Maguire, Charley Hull and Amy Yang.
“I feel like weeks like this where par is always going to be a good score, I’m just pretty good at staying calm,” said the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion, “just playing it a little safer.”
Tavatanakit, who won earlier this season on home soil in Thailand, enjoyed a rare bogey-free day at Sahalee. Seattle happens to be one of her favorite cities, noting that she’d live here if the weather was better for golf.
“I feel homey,” she said. “I feel like – I don’t know, cuddly with the weather, too.”
It’s been three years since Tavatanakit won the ANA Inspiration and Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year honors. She spent time in the valley after that win and came out wiser for it.
“Feel like I’ve gotten more acceptant,” she said. “I feel more acceptance towards anything that life would throw at me on and off the course.
“It’s a nice mindset to have because whatever you face, you’re up for it.”
Nelly Korda has been the best female golfer in the world this year — by a wide margin — but even she isn’t perfect.
Look no further than her last two starts in the U.S. Women’s Open and Meijer LPGA Classic: missed cut and missed cut. Even for Korda, who has won six times this year, including the first major championship of the year at the Chevron, it’s just one of those lulls that happens.
But that’s the thing about golf — there’s always another tournament. This week, the best female players in the world are in Sammamish, Washington, for the 2024 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major of the year. And Sahalee Country Club, which hosted the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA, is where Korda is looking to get back on track.
“I’m going to go through these situations so many times where I feel like I’m playing really well and I’ll go through a little lull where golf is the hardest thing in my life right now,” Korda said Tuesday during her pre-tournament press conference. “So that’s I feel like what grows myself as a person and what makes me appreciate the sport so much and makes me appreciate the wins and the highs and good shots, the crowds out there as well.”
Two months ago, Korda looked invincible. She had won five straight starts and seemed a lock to win any time she teed it up. Then she had six wins in seven starts heading into the U.S. Women’s Open, where a 10 on the par-3 12th squashed any hopes she had of victory.
Last week, Korda surprisingly missed the cut, though there were some positives in Michigan, like a strong second round even with the missed cut. But she isn’t going to dwell on what she called poor course management, something she will have to do well at Sahalee.
“It’s just about playing the golf course,” Korda said. “You can write as many things into your yardage book and you can pick a game plan that you want to execute, but typically it doesn’t happen that way and you just got to adapt. Everything is about adapting, and that’s why I like to go out and just play the golf course and see the game that I have that day and try to adapt.”
Korda said Sahalee is different from other venues the LPGA has played at in Oregon or even Vancouver, Canada. But Korda plans to be aggressive off the tee, using driver every place she can, even on the narrow layout.
Her stellar spring has made Korda’s summer schedule a bit busier, too. Last week, she was confirmed as the first American on the Solheim Cup team, set for September at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Virginia. But before that, she’ll also rep the red, white and blue in the Olympics, where in 2021 she won the gold medal in Tokyo.
This time, she’ll be defending her title in Paris at Le Golf National, site of the 2018 Ryder Cup.
“I have never been to Paris, and the one thing I’m really looking forward to is the croissants probably on every corner,” Korda said. “I love bakeries and baked goods, so that’s one thing I’m really looking forward to. And obviously representing my country and getting to compete in the Olympics is such an incredible opportunity.
“I’m just super excited to get there and even just to play that golf course. I got to watch it in Ryder Cup. To be able to play such amazing golf courses like we do nowadays will be such a treat.”
But before the Olympics, there are three major championships to be played, including this week at Sahalee for the KPMG Women’s PGA. It’s the major Korda got her first title at.
Although she comes in off two missed cuts, the pressure may not be as high as it was, but the drive to win remains.
“I feel like pressure is privilege, and that’s something that you’re the only one that can kind of control that,” Korda said. “You can listen to the outside voices, but at the end of the day, when you have pressure you can take it in a positive way that you are doing good and playing well. But, yeah, I’m just going to stay in my bubble this week and go out and try to execute my shots, be confident in what I have.”
Nelly Korda, a six-time winner on tour this season, says she was never more proud of herself this season than the U.S. Women’s Open. That might sound strange, given that she made a 10 on a par 3 and didn’t play the weekend.
But Korda is wise enough to see past the score.
“I’m not going to say that I was happy with the way I played,” she said. “I was happy with the way I fought. I fought really, really, hard to make the cut.”
This week, Korda comes back to the Meijer LPGA Classic, a place where she’s had great success, winning in 2021 and coming up short in a playoff the following year. Michigan’s Grand Rapids area is one of her favorite stops on tour, and it’s where she hit the reset button three years ago after a devastating missed cut at the U.S. Women’s Open at Olympic Club.
Korda went on to win the Meijer that week, followed by the KPMG Women’s PGA the next and Olympic gold later that summer in Japan.
“I just told myself, like, I’m doing what I love for a living,” she said of her mindset going into the 2021 Meijer. “Like, I’m going to amazing places, playing in front of amazing crowds. There is no point to be miserable out there. Go out and have fun. Even if you’re not playing well.
“Sometimes you have to build a bridge and get over it.”
Leona Maguire hoists the 2023 Meijer LPGA Classic trophy at Blythefield Country Club in Belmont, Michigan. (Photo: Cody Scanlan/Holland Sentinel)
On Thursday, Korda will be paired with a couple of other past champions at the Meijer, 2023 winner Leona Maguire and two-time champ Brooke Henderson. Maguire calls the Meijer the unofficial start of summer for the LPGA and relishes the Irish vibes of the Midwest.
“I think a lot of people associate Irish golf with links golf, primarily around the coast and things like that,” said Maguire, “but actually a lot of Irish golf courses are like this – a lot of trees, very green. That’s mainly because of a lot of the rain we get. I grew up playing courses like that more than links golf.
“And I think just the people as well, the friendly atmosphere around I think the midwest is a little bit more similar to the Irish mentality in that way.”
Korda enjoys the aggressive nature of Blythefield Country Club, where the par 5s are reachable with irons for the World No. 1, and there’s a potential birdie around every corner. The narrow fairways call for precise driving, which is typically a strength for the 14-time winner. The crowds are typically strong, too.
Korda took a week off after the U.S. Women’s Open, skipping last week’s ShopRite event. She decompressed for a few days, took her mind off the game, and then went back to work.
When asked whether a bump in the road like Lancaster makes her even more motivated for the rest of 2024, Korda’s response revealed much about her mature outlook.
“Yeah, I mean, I love when golf humbles me. Not to that extent,” she said with a smile, “but I do love when golf humbles me. Sometimes you ride the highs, but it’s always, in a sense, nice to know where you can improve, too.”
And of course, Korda’s struggles on the par-3 12th during Thursday’s opening round finished with the same improbable number on the scorecard.
Her tee shot went long into a bunker, from where her bunker shot crossed the putting surface and found the water short of the green. After taking a drop on the far side of the penalty area, Korda proceeded to rinse two more balls in the water.
Winner of six of her previous seven events on tour, Korda didn’t hesitate to say yes when her agent asked if she’d take a few questions from the media. She wasn’t surly about the shocking 10 she took on the par-3 12th, nor particularly somber. She’d had plenty of time to digest the debacle by then.
“Making a 10 on a par 3 will definitely not do you any good at a U.S. Open,” she said. “I started off really poorly, but played pretty well on the back nine. But overall, yeah, just a bad day in the office.”
Nelly Korda got a measure of revenge on the 12th hole on Friday, draining a 20-foot putt for par, breaking out in a big smile and then looking back at the hole before blurting out a Not Safe For Work comment in a light-hearted moment during the second round.
It was the same par-3 hole, her third on Thursday, that absolutely destroyed her round – and pretty much her entire week – when she posted a 10.
That led to a 10-over 80 at Lancaster Country Club and essentially ended her chase for the title before it could really get started.
“Making a 10 on a par 3 will definitely not do you any good at a U.S. Open,” she said after her round.
But on Friday, Korda made a 3 on the challenging hole despite nearly hitting her tee shot into the water. After clearing the water by only a couple feet, Korda’s ball rolled back down the hill and miraculously got caught up in the rough inside the hazard line.
Absolutely love this "tribute" to no. 12 by Korda after she saves par. I have been there. (Other than ever making par.) pic.twitter.com/f9BU5uLsyV
— Shane Ryan (Trustworthy) (@ShaneRyanHere) May 31, 2024
The Thursday 10 was the first of Korda’s LPGA career came and it happened on her 8,697th hole. Her previous worse score was an 8. The 80 ties her highest LPGA score as a professional. She also shot 80 in the final round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.
LANCASTER, Pa. – Rarely has a dominant favorite faded so quickly at a major championship. Nelly Korda’s shocking 10 on the par-3 12th at Lancaster Country Club – her third hole of the day – put her in danger of missing the weekend at the 79th U.S. Women’s Open. Should the 25-year-old somehow pull off the unimaginable and climb back from an opening 10-over 80 to win for a seventh time this season, it would be her greatest feat to date in a year of historic proportions.
For the most part, it felt like the air went out of the balloon at Lancaster before lunch.
Korda, winner of six of her last seven events on tour, didn’t hesitate to say yes when her agent asked if she’d take a few questions from the media. She wasn’t surly about the shocking 10 she took on the par-3 12th, nor particularly somber. She’d had plenty of time to digest the debacle by then.
“Making a 10 on a par 3 will definitely not do you any good at a U.S. Open,” she said. “I started off really poorly, but played pretty well on the back nine. But overall, yeah, just a bad day in the office.”
Nelly Korda of the United States and caddie Jason McDede look on during the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Lancaster Country Club on May 30, 2024 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Korda, one of the fastest players on tour, said her group waited for 25 to 30 minutes on the 12th tee, and she was in between a 7-iron and a 6-iron. She didn’t know what to hit. The world No. 1 watched one player come up short of the hazard that guarded the green and another find the water.
She pegged her ball one club length back on the tee box and pulled a 6-iron. The ball penetrated through the wind and landed in the back bunker.
“I kind of had a leaf under my ball, so when I hit it kind of rocketed through,” she explained of her second shot finding the hazard on the other side of the green. “Couldn’t really do anything about that. Yeah, just hit some really bad chips over and over again.”
Korda found the water twice more as she tried to bump it into the bank, only to watch the ball curl down in the hazard.
“You try to play for that one-hop, trying to get it a little too perfect,” said Megan Khang, “and it gets the best of you.”
Khang, one of Korda’s closest friends on tour, had a front-row seat to the carnage playing in the same group. Walking off the 13th green, Khang gave Korda a little pat on the back. No words were exchanged.
🚨😲🏌🏼♀️#WATCH Video has surfaced of the 10 Nelly Korda recorded on the par-3 12th hole @NellyLegion
“Overheard (caddie) Jason (McDede), just telling her ‘Hey, c’mon, you can come back from this,’ ” said Khang. “They’re a great team together.”
Korda, who shot 45 on her opening nine, wasn’t the only big-name player to post an 80. The LPGA Hall of Fame watch seems to be off this week after Lydia Ko also shot 10 over.
Crowds were out in force at Lancaster, a demanding William Flynn design that attracted some of the championship’s biggest galleries this century at the 2015 edition. On the ninth hole, where Korda three-putted from 65 feet to finish her round, fans were as much as five deep around the green.
The first 10 of Korda’s LPGA career came on her 8,697th hole. Her previous worse score was an eight, recorded four times and most recently at the 2021 Hugel Air-Premia LA Open at Wilshire Country Club. The 80 ties her highest LPGA score as a professional. She also shot 80 in the final round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.
Coming into this week, Korda was 50 under par in the majors since 2020, the best of any player on tour in that span. She won the first major of the season, the Chevron Championship, by two strokes in April for her second career major title. She was looking to become the first player since Inbee Park in 2013 to win the first two majors of the season.
Korda headed to the range Thursday afternoon with instructor Jamie Mulligan immediately after she met with the media. The highest first-round score ever recorded by an eventual champion was Susie Maxwell Berning’s 79 to open the 1972 U.S. Women’s Open on Winged Foot’s East Course. She was seven off the lead after Round 1.
Three players in the morning wave shot 1-under 69. Korda has only broken 70 in this championship twice in nine appearances. She hasn’t been shy about letting the world know that this is the title she wants the most.
“I’m human,” said Korda. “I’m going to have bad days. I played some really solid golf up to this point. Today was just a bad day. That’s all I can say.”
Nelly Korda entered the week a winner of six of her last seven starts, including the Chevron Championship at the first major of the year. It’s easy to see why the No. 1 player in the world was the heavy favorite at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.
However, her week might effectively be over after just three holes.
Korda, who began her day on the 10th, opened with a bogey and was sitting at 1 over when she arrived to the par-3 12th.
Her tee shot went long into a bunker, from where her bunker shot crossed the putting surface and found the water short of the green. After taking a drop on the far side of the penalty area, Korda proceeded to rinse two more balls in the water.
