Nelly Korda blitzed the Atlanta Athletic Club to the tune of 63 on Friday, and will enter the weekend at the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a one-shot lead.
Starting her second round on the back nine, the American star got off to a poor start with a bogey out of the gate but carded birdies on Nos. 11, 14, and 17 to turn in 34.
Korda, though, then really turned up the heat with a seven-birdie homeward nine, highlighted by five straight gains on Nos. 4-9 to set the halftime mark on 11 under.
“I don’t know, I guess I just blacked out out there,” said Korda. “Actually the one on 17, No. 8, was the highlight of my round. I pushed my drive out right, and I was near a root, so I wasn’t even sure if I could hit it.
“Thankfully I hit just the top of it. It’s so scary when you have those types of shots. To drain a long putt was nice, too.”
One back was overnight leader Lizette Salas, who shot a second straight round of 67 to reach 10-under par.
“Yeah, I’m definitely satisfied,” said Salas. “We came in with some goals, and we’re reaching them.
“I think overall my attitude has been pretty solid. It’s a major; it’s supposed to be tough. It’s supposed to test you in several different ways, and I think I’m handling it quite well, and back-to-back 67s, I’m not going to complain.
“I can go ahead and start analyzing my game and what could have happened, but at the same time I’ve done a lot of good things, and I think this is good momentum going into the weekend.”
Celine Boutier (64), Alena Sharp (68), and Cydney Clanton (67) were three back on 7 under.
Madelene Sagstrom, who shot 68, was solo sixth on 6 under, one ahead of Inbee Park (68), Esther Henseleit (68), and Charley Hull (71).
Danielle Kang (67) headlined a logjam of nine players tied for 10th-place on 4 under.
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Top-10 Leaders: First Round
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 2)
1. Nelly Korda -11 (-9)
2. Lizette Salas -10 (-5)
3. Celine Boutier -7 (-8)
3. Alena Sharp -7 (-4)
3. Cydney Clanton -7 (-5)
6. Madelene Sagstrom -6 (-4)
7. Charley Hull -5 (-1)
7. Inbee Park -5 (-4)
7. Esther Henseleit -5 (-4)
10. Nine Players Tied -4
Material from the LPGA Tour Communications was used to compile this report.
