Nelly Korda’s U.S. Open could not have gotten off to a worse start.
The American, who has won six of seven events heading into the U.S. Women’s Open, made a disastrous 10 on the par-3 12th, which was just her third hole of the day.
Korda, the No. 1 golfer in the world, was the clear favorite to win the major at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.
On the downhill par-3, Korda hit her tee shot in the bunker over the hole. The 25-year-old then hit her sand shot over the green and into the creek that guarded the pin.
That’s when things went from bad to shocking.
Korda had to take a drop in front of the penalty area and dumped two straight shots into the penalty area before getting it on the green and two-putting for a 10.
That put Korda at 8-over par after she had previously bogeyed the 10th hole.
The Athletic’s Gabby Herzig was with Korda on the course and described her as “really looking out of sorts.”
“She stopped in between the 17th and 18th holes, took off her visor and just stared at the ground. A security guard walked up to her to ask if she’s OK,” Herzing wrote. “Just so tough to see from the world No. 1.”
Korda hit the turn at 10-over after two more bogeys, but made her first birdie of the day on the third hole.
Korda had been on an unreal run before the U.S. Women’s Open, winning five straight tournaments earlier in the season. That included the Chevron Championship in April, the first major of the season.
Korda called the course “a beast” before the event started and it’s baring its teeth in the opening round, with most of the early tee-off times over par and slow play around the course.
“It just tests every aspect of your game,” Korda said this week, according to NBC Philadelphia. “It’s tight off the tee. Visually, it looks so much shorter than it is. There’s bunkers that visually you see that you think you’re going to carry that you end up maybe 10 yards short. If you’re in the rough and you miss fairways, the greens are very small and very sloppy, and the rough is thick around the greens, too.”
