The nagging frustrations of an entire season might have all been exhaled by Nelly Korda on Friday at the CME Group Tour Championship.
Facing constant questions about how and why she hasn’t been able to lift a trophy after a year in which she did so seven times, the World No. 2 put herself in a prime position to finally break through by shooting eight-under-par 64 in the second round at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla.
With her morning round out of the way in the field of 60 that was still playing, Korda moved up 39th places and was on top of the leaderboard at nine under after she was frustrated by an opening score of 71.
Her timing could not be better. This is the season-ending event that carries a total of purse of $11 million, with a hefty $4 million check going to the winner.
“Yeah, it’s definitely great, especially after yesterday, being a little frustrated,” Korda said of her round. “Coming back out here this morning, the conditions were great. The wind wasn’t really that strong. Was able to be really aggressive after a lot of these pins and rolled some putts in.”
Korda opened with consecutive birdies and would make three more, along with a bogey, in a front nine of 32. She recorded four birdies on the back, including the last two holes.
She said she was annoyed by some lip-outs in her first round while feeling like she was rolling the ball well. Korda went to the putting green after Thursday’s effort, saw a few balls immediately roll in and left.
“I honestly have been putting like very well,” she said. “My line and my speed just haven’t matched completely so I would obviously burn edges or they’re just not falling. But strike-wise, I’m very happy the way it’s coming off my face and the way the ball is rolling, so just need to see more putts fall.”
She is also dangerously close to being extremely confident after a much-publicized iron switch last week that saw her move from TaylorMade P7MCs P7CBs. That’s a jumble of letters and numbers, but the change seems to have truly made a difference. Korda opened The Annika last week with a 63 before fading a bit on the weekend for a T-15. Now comes a 64 to get her back into contention.
“I’ve been playing well this year and I’ve been landing the ball where I want to; I’ve just been seeing a little bit more release than I normally have,” Korda said of how the ball reacted on the green.
“I would say with different changes in conditions with golf courses, that’s just how it is. Last year maybe some of the golf courses we were playing were a little softer so I was able to stop it. This year they were more on the firmer side so they were just releasing.
“So was just a little bit frustrated not seeing the ball react the way I wanted it to. I really like these irons. They go through the turf really well. But I did gain a little bit of distance, so last week I was just always above the hole.
“Obviously putting them in under pressure, that’s kind of where you learn the most about any type of equipment. So just kind of adjusted to this week, but overall I’m very happy with the irons.”
Speaking of tests under pressure, Korda certainly faces that this weekend. She has eight top-10s this season, including two runners-up, but it’s likely her play over the final two days in each close call that have cost her. While she ranks No. 1 in second-round scoring average at 68.00, Korda is two strokes higher and 20th in round 3 (70.00), and a confounding 57th in round 4 (70.94).
She’ll have to do far better than that to end her drought.
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
