Nelly Korda found her stride on Friday, delivering a remarkable performance that vaulted her up the leaderboard at the U.S. Women's Open. After opening with an even-par 72 on Thursday, Korda expressed a modest wish for more balls to find the bottom of the cup. That wish was granted as the American star fired seven birdies en route to a sizzling 5-under 67, her personal best at this prestigious major.
Korda ended the day tied for second, just three strokes shy of the lead, a position she savored given her complex history with the U.S. Open. "I feel like I’ve had a very complicated relationship with U.S. Opens. But I’m happy to be in the position I am heading into the weekend," Korda reflected.
Making her 11th start at this premier event, Korda has experienced the highs and lows, including missing the cut three times alongside earning two top-10s. Just last year, she faced a disappointing miss after debuting with an 80 despite having six wins that season. But on this Friday, she set a determined pace early on, starting strong with a 26-foot birdie putt on her third hole, the par-4 12th.
Her momentum continued over the next eight holes, highlighted by consistent two-putt birdies on par 5s and a 20-footer at the 17th. Her round wasn't flawless, as three-putt bogeys on Nos. 15 and 2 momentarily disrupted her progress. However, a rejuvenated Korda responded boldly, tapping in a decisive 15-foot birdie on the fourth, narrowing the gap with tournament leader Mao Saigo, who shot a dazzling 66 to reach 8 under.
Korda sealed her impressive round with additional birdies at the fifth and seventh, only fueling her quest for a first victory this year. Her precision with the driver and irons was complemented by revived skills with the putter, remarkably improving her stroke gains on the greens from Thursday's rank of 106th.
"Honestly, I was hitting really good putts yesterday. I was hitting it exactly where I wanted to and they just weren’t falling. It was one of those days," Korda said of her putting. "Today, I did the same thing; I didn’t really try to do anything different, tried to roll it over an intermediate target. My distance control has been really good on the putting green, so hopefully I can keep trending in the right direction heading into the weekend."
