Another quick major chance for top-ranked Nelly Korda when Women's PGA tees off in Texas
Associated Press
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Nelly Korda was still in contention on the closing holes and feeling the adrenaline rush of trying to win another major championship before coming up short less than a month ago.
The world's top-ranked player, still without a win this season, doesn't have to wait long before another major opportunity.
The KPMG Women's PGA Championship tees off Thursday on the 6,604-yard Fields Ranch East course at PGA Frisco, three weeks after Korda was a runner-up to Maja Stark in the U.S. Women's Open at Erin Hills.
'There's nothing like it, being in contention, so I think that's kind of what makes me hungrier to come back and to work harder and put myself into that position," Korda said. 'You can look at it in a positive way, you can look at it in a negative way, but at the end of the day, three weeks after, I can spin it in a positive way."
While that much-desired U.S. Women's Open title has so far eluded the 26-year-old Korda, who first played that event at age 14, she has two majors among her 15 career wins: the 2021 Women's PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club and the Chevron Championship last year.
Korda, Jeeno Thitikul and Lydia Ko — the top three players in the world — will play together in the first two rounds on one of the two courses at the PGA headquarters that opened just two years ago in North Texas.
'Every major, I just want to make the cut, to be honest,' said Thitikul, the 22-year-old from Thailand already with five career wins. 'What I have now under my belt, I'm pretty happy with all I've achieved. If I can get it, it would be great.'
After missing two tournaments late last year during the LPGA's Asia swing because of a minor neck injury, Korda said her neck 'went into a full spasm' after she hit a shot out of the rough during a practice round Monday. She skipped the champions dinner that night, and had therapeutic tape on her neck after playing Tuesday, but said she would be ready Thursday.
This will be the 10th start for Korda in a season when there have been 15 winners in 15 tournaments, including first-time major champions Stark and Mao Saigo at the Chevron Championship in April.
Korda missed the cut at the Women's PGA last year at Sahalee after a second-round 81, only weeks after her opening 80 that led to a missed cut at the U.S. Women's Open. That was after the Chevron Championship had capped an incredible stretch of winning five consecutive tournaments.
'I know that this golf course is a little newer, so I'm guessing the greens ... they're going to be pretty firm. If it does get windy out here, you'll see a lot of girls have trouble holding the greens,' she said. 'But at the end of the day, this is what I love about playing in majors, this is what I love about the game, is that it tests you in every single way.' Defending champion
Since her first major win at the Women's PGA last year, Amy Yang has only one top-10 finish in 20 tournaments. She has missed the cut in two of her last three starts, with her best finish since February a tie for 36th at the U.S. Women's Open.
The 35-year-old Yang won by three strokes last year and her peers doused her in Champagne during the celebration on the 18th green. Last major winner
Stark said she hasn't really had time to digest her U.S. Women's Open victory before getting ready for another major.
'Just really hasn't landed yet,' the 25-year-old Swede said. '(Life) hasn't changed that much. I feel like maybe a bit less stress about keeping the tour card and that stuff.'
After winning at Erin Hills, Stark missed the cut the following week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic before taking off last week.
'I don't really feel that much pressure going into majors in normal cases, but I think my perspective is kind of changed in that (the) U.S. Open was something that I always wanted to win,' she said. 'I am feeling it more and more coming into this week that I'm getting more and more excited about this major.' Major stretch and a new course
The Women's PGA is the second of four majors in a span of eight events over two months. There will be only one other tournament before the Evian Championship in France, then one more before the Women's British Open.
The par-72 Fields Ranch East also hosted the Senior PGA Championship two years ago. The PGA Championship is set to be played there in 2027 and 2034, with the Senior PGA returning in 2029 and the Women's PGA in 2031.
'I think (architect) Gil Hanse and the team, they designed this course to host championships,' Ko said. 'It's designed with a purpose.'
___
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