The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Olympic champ Korda out front at Women’s British Open
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Nelly Korda’s sensational summer form is showing no sign of dipping.
Two weeks after winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the top-ranked Korda began her bid for a second major title in two months by shooting 5-under 67 to share the firstround lead at the Women’s British Open on Thursday.
Korda rolled in a 5-foot putt at No. 18 at Carnoustie for her eighth birdie of a round that also contained three bogeys in overcast, chilly but largely wind-free conditions over the links in eastern Scotland. She was later joined on 5 under by Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom, who has never recorded a top-10 finish at a major, and South Korea’s Sei Young Kim, a major champion last year and the No. 4.
The 23-year-old Korda is the new superstar of women’s golf, having climbed to No. 1 by winning the PGA Championship in June and followed that up by winning the Olympic golf tournament in Tokyo this month. The American has four wins in 14 events in 2021 and said she has a “target on my back” for the last of the five majors.
“I try to take the mindset of every day’s a new day,” said Korda, who is a combined 87 under par for her last 21 rounds. “It doesn’t matter what my ranking is. Everyone’s going into this event prepared and wanting to win.
“That’s kind of like the mindset that I try to take into every event.”
The Women’s Open is her first event since the Olympics and she carried the momentum to Carnoustie, holing a left-to-right 20-footer for birdie at No. 3 — the first of three birdies in a four-hole span to immediately throw down the challenge to her rivals.
Korda, who wore bulky, oven-style mitts between shots at times during chilly morning conditions that contrasted with what she experienced in Tokyo, rebounded from her second bogey of the day, at No. 12, by making a downhill putt for birdie at the next and picked up another shot at the par-5 14th after reaching the green in two.
She finished birdie-birdie by hitting her approach close at No. 18 with an 8iron from the center of the fairway.
“Very happy,” Korda said of her start. “Honestly, we didn’t have much wind today. It was very chilly in the morning — that was the only thing against us. Other than that, the wind kept calm and I took advantage of it.”
Korda has been on the road for six weeks, because of her appearances at the Evian Championship in France — the fourth major of the year, where she placed 19th — and then the Olympics, where she had a one-shot victory.
“A little tired but I am going to give it my all these next three day, go home next week, and have one week at home. Sleep in my bed for the first time in six weeks — that will be nice,” she said. “And then Solheim and we start up again.”