Nelly Korda following her final-round 72 on the 2024 AIG Ladies’s Open.
Ross Parker/R&A/R&A by way of Getty Pictures
World No. 1 Nelly Korda was poised to cap off an historic season with a second main victory at St. Andrews’ iconic Outdated Course, but it surely all unraveled in just some holes when a brutal end on Sunday dashed her hopes.
Korda’s unstable closing day on the 2024 AIG Ladies’s open was preceded by a unstable first three rounds, and a roller-coaster of a season typically.
Earlier this yr, Korda went on an unimaginable stretch the place she received six of seven LPGA occasions, together with her second-career main on the Chevron Championship in April.
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Following that torrid stretch, Korda cooled down in a giant approach, lacking cuts with frequency, together with on the subsequent two majors. Then a late cost at Olympic gold in Paris was stifled by an premature shank on the fifteenth gap within the closing spherical.
However when the yr’s closing main started this week on the Outdated Course, Korda, nonetheless the World No. 1, appeared like she would conquer her demons and get again within the winner’s circle in spite of everything, opening with back-to-back 68s in unrelenting winds to take the 36-hole lead.
Korda’s Scottish roller-coaster journey then took its first dip, when she shot a three-over 75 in spherical 3 to give up the result in Jiyai Shin. However the drama wasn’t over for the American star.
On Sunday, Korda made birdies at 5, 7, 9 and 10 to vault previous everybody and take a two-shot lead, with fellow People Lydia Ko and Lilia Vu trailing behind and on the verge of falling out of rivalry.
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Then on the par-5 14th gap, catastrophe struck for Korda. The outlet ought to have been an awesome alternative so as to add a fifth birdie to her scorecard and set her up for a waltz to the winner’s circle. A layup try on her second shot ended up within the lengthy grass, the place she caught a flyer to ship her third shot over the inexperienced. Then Korda got here up quick together with her chip, which rolled again off the inexperienced.
Along with her fifth shot, she efficiently chipped to 4 toes, leaving her an awesome have a look at bogey which might have left her within the lead by one. However Korda’s quick bogey attempt missed, giving her a devastating double-bogey to fall right into a tie for the lead.
“I had 58-degree and it simply shot on me. The wedge shot that I had over the inexperienced was sort of sitting somewhat bit in a gap with a number of the — no matter you name it, the ‘hay’ or no matter you name it behind it,” Korda stated Sunday after her spherical, explaining her double-bogey on 14. “I simply can’t catch it cleanly after which clearly didn’t make the putt for bogey.”
Ko, forward of her on the course, and Vu, who was behind her, each made birdie on the 14th. Although Ko gave a shot again at 15, she made a clutch birdie putt on the 18th to take a one-shot lead at seven below, with Korda and Vu nonetheless on the course.
Simply after Ko’s putt dropped, Korda might have had arrange an opportunity to tie her with a birdie of her personal at 18. However she’d by no means get the chance.
On the “Highway Gap” seventeenth, Korda’s second shot discovered the dreaded front-left bunker. She escaped cleanly however needed to play away from the outlet to take action. She was then confronted with a mid-range putt for par. She left that putt quick, dropping to 5 below, two pictures behind clubhouse chief Ko.
Korda tried to clarify what occurred on the seventeenth following her spherical.
“I needed to hit proper of it. I used to be somewhat too shut to love the again edge [of the bunker on 17] the place I’ve had a kind of the place you suppose you may get it, however you swing and miss and also you hit the highest of the bunker,” Korda stated. “As an alternative of doing that, I took my medication and went somewhat proper. Hit the putt actually good however simply didn’t have sufficient velocity.”
She would want to hole-out for eagle 18 to tie, however she might solely handle a par to complete in a tie for second at 5 below.
Regardless of one more disappointing end at a significant match, Korda was in a position to take some positives from the week.
“Pay attention, it’s golf. I’m going to mess up and sadly, I tousled over the weekend twice in two penalizing methods coming down the stretch,” she stated. “Theoretically that’s what sort of value me the match however I performed nicely. I performed stable. I even fought after that. I’m going to take that into the following coming occasions.”
