Nelly Korda’s Olympic collapse? It began with 1 ill-fated, ‘hesitant’ transfer

Wedge or 9-iron? Ought to Nelly Korda hammer the previous on Le Golf Nationwide’s par-3 sixteenth? Or finesse the latter? Choices, selections. She held each golf equipment on the tee Thursday afternoon. 

Previous to that, the world No. 1 may have gotten away with enjoying a pole-vault stick in the course of the Olympics second spherical. She birdied 3. And 5 and 6. And 9. And 11. And 15. She had hit all however one inexperienced. 

She then missed one other. 

Stunningly, with the 9, lacking quick and into the water even with the longer membership.

From there, she collapsed, going from two again of the result in a whopping seven down to start the 18th. Korda birdied that closing gap, however she’ll want extra if she’s to defend her Olympic gold, or medal in any respect. 

So what occurred?

Again to the membership alternative. 

Nothing was improper with the 9. However she stated she performed it “hesitant.” The ball got here off its heel.

And it fell a couple of yard in entrance of the water defending the inexperienced’s entrance, earlier than bouncing in. 

Mentioned analyst John Wooden on the Golf Channel broadcast: “That was a shocker. She had each golf equipment out — she had wedge and 9, and I feel what occurred was she went with the 9, perhaps feeling it was a variety of membership and simply took method an excessive amount of off it and eased into it, didn’t play an aggressive shot.”

Mentioned Wooden later: “So vital if you make these last-minute membership modifications to essentially commit your self to it. Get that different one utterly out of your head and persuade your self that is the precise one.” 

Mentioned analyst Morgan Pressel in response: “… I all the time say you wish to be dedicated to the improper membership than not dedicated in any respect.”

Issues snowballed. 

— Korda dropped within the drop zone, then fatted a wedge into the bunker forward of the inexperienced. “Simply hit a extremely poor wedge shot,” Korda stated.

— On her fourth shot, from a plugged lie within the sand, she punched out off the again of the inexperienced. “These bunkers are actually agency,” Korda stated, “and once I tried to be just a little aggressive with it, my ball simply shot to the again of the inexperienced.”

— She putted her fifth shot, from about 90 toes away, and her ball completed 7 toes quick. 

— She missed that, simply to the precise. She gave the opening a stare. Korda cleaned it up for a quadruple-bogey seven. 

— Lastly, she three-putted from 21 toes on the par-4 seventeenth. 

Two holes, 5 photographs misplaced.

“Only a collection of unlucky occasions occurred in a row,” Korda stated. 

Unlucky, and sadly acquainted.

In Could, in the course of the U.S. Open’s first spherical, she carded a septuple-bogey 10 on the par-3 twelfth at Lancaster Nation Membership to torpedo her probabilities. A month later, in the course of the Ladies’s PGA’s second spherical, she shot a career-worst 81 on her strategy to lacking the lower. Each had been huge phases. Each had been unusually topsy-turvy performances. On the published, although, each Wooden and Pressel expressed shock that Korda compounded her errors on Thursday. 

For her half, Korda sounded optimistic. She birdied the par-5 18th on a tough two-putt from 81 toes, which included avoiding a sprinkler head simply to the precise of her line. She shot beneath par — a two-under 70. She’s six again and tied for twelfth. “I’m going to try to take the optimistic,” Korda stated.

However can she rally?

In her post-round press convention, a reporter requested her if she was enjoying nicely sufficient to make up the deficit. In response, Korda flashed again to final Sunday, when her fellow world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, shot a nine-under 62 on the identical course to assert gold. 

“I’m going to strive,” Korda stated. “I’m going to all the time strive my hardest and I’m going to — if I’m hitting it nicely off the tee, which I used to be immediately, and I used to be hitting good photographs in and I used to be giving myself alternatives, sure. If I’m hitting it unhealthy, then no, it’s powerful to do this out right here.

“It’s all about, you already know, if I can get my complete recreation collectively for the subsequent two days, and if I might have accomplished this on the final day or let’s say the third day, then I might be extraordinarily heartbroken. However I nonetheless have 36 extra holes and something can occur. I’m making an attempt to see the optimistic on this. You recognize, Scottie got here again, shot nine-under and he received.

“So when you’re hitting your photographs, then you definately’re staying current, and I feel something can occur.”

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Journal. In his function, he’s chargeable for enhancing, writing and creating tales throughout the golf house. And when he’s not writing about methods to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native might be enjoying the sport, hitting the ball left, proper and quick, and consuming a chilly beer to clean away his rating. You may attain out to him about any of those matters — his tales, his recreation or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.