Korda two back, and five is in play

Nelly Korda, who is looking to tie an LPGA Tour record with her fifth straight win, shot a 4-under-par 68 on Thursday in the opening round of the Chevron Championship, leaving her two shots behind leader Lauren Coughlin in the year’s first major.

Coughlin shot a bogey-free 66 in windy conditions at The Woodlands, Texas, which is hosting the event for the second time.

The top-ranked Korda is seeking her second major after winning the Women’s PGA Championship in 2021. She could join Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2004-05) as the only players to win five consecutive LPGA events.

Korda said she was battling fatigue from recent tournaments at the beginning of her round. She bogeyed her first hole, the par-4 10th.

“I definitely still feel maybe a little bit of tiredness, so it took me a while to get going,” she said. “I felt the nerves definitely at the start of the round. Once I made the turn, I was just playing free golf.”

She made her first birdie on the par-4 14th hole, something she half-jokingly credited to a snack.

“I actually had an apple on 13, and that gave me actually a nice boost,” she said. “I felt a lot better after that. Maybe I should have apples more often.”

The 25-year-old finished with six birdies, including four in the final six holes.

“Two of them were par 5s, so I got to take advantage of that with my length,” she said. “Hit a really good tee shot, and then I was just on the front of the green on 17, and the other one I was just on the fringe, too. I two-putted pretty much for birdie on those. Then I had wedge shots in on the other two, too. Taking advantage of my length and hitting good tee shots.”

Marina Alex and Japan’s Minami Katsu also shot 68. Lydia Ko was one of five players at 69.

The 31-year-old Coughlin, who played in college at Virginia and has never won on the LPGA Tour, made three birdies in a four-hole span from Nos. 2-5.

Defending champion and world No. 2 Lilia Vu withdrew because of a back injury. She issued a statement on Instagram saying she had “severe discomfort” in her back during warm-ups.

Later in the day, last year’s runnerup, Angel Yin, withdrew because of an injury after shooting 78.

A win by Ko would put her in the LPGA Hall of Fame. She won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in January for her 20th title.

PGA — Scottie Scheffler is running on fumes after an exhausting Masters victory just four days ago. He hit a shank from a bunker. He nearly lost his mind from mud on his golf ball. And he still managed a 2-under-par 69 at the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

J.T. Poston set the pace on an idyllic day on Hilton Head Island with nine birdies — six of them in a seven-hole stretch — for a 63 that gave him a twoshot lead over Collin Morikawa and Seamus Power.

Ludvig Aberg, the runner-up at Augusta, was in the group another shot behind. Rory McIlroy birdied his last two holes to salvage a scrappy day with the irons for a 67.

Thousands of fans lined the fairways of Harbour Town to see Scheffler, the Masters champion who is going for his fourth win in his last five tournaments. There were times Scheffler didn’t look like the No. 1 player in the world, and he figured that would be the case with very little time to prepare.

“That’s why I tried to give myself an extra little bit of grace on the course today, just because yeah, emotionally a little drained. Mentally, definitely a bit drained,” he said.

“I feel like I have more energy now than I did at the beginning of the day, waking up to go play golf,” he said. “I think getting into the tournament, hitting some shots, getting a bit frustrated, getting a bit excited about my finish there, all good emotions to feel.”

All but 16 players in the 69-man field were at the Masters, at least for part of the week. Poston closed with a 70 at Augusta National and arrived at Hilton Head Island with a little excitement away from golf. This is the first time traveling with his month-old daughter, Katherine Scott.

Scheffler and Jordan Spieth were in the group behind Poston getting all the attention — Scheffler as the dominant player in golf, Spieth because his entertainment level is high. The fans probably weren’t expecting a shank, and neither was Scheffler.

It happened on the third hole. He was in a bunker right of the green and hit it off the hosel of the club at a 45-degree angle away from the pin, over the green. He chipped to 6 feet and missed the putt, making double bogey.

“I shank it a decent amount, but never in competition,” Scheffler said.

Justin Thomas missed the cut at the Masters in horrific fashion by playing the final four holes in 7 over to miss by one. He had only one glitch Thursday — a double bogey when he chipped into the bunker on the par-3 14th — that spoiled an otherwise decent round of 69.