What’s on the line Sunday is monumental.
Back-to-back major titles. A fourth, overall. A shot at the season Grand Slam. The precipice of the LPGA Hall of Fame.
It’s also inconsequential. All Nelly Korda wants to do is win the U.S. Women’s Open.
And she’ll have her best-ever chance. Korda shot her second-consecutive, 4-under 67 Saturday at Riviera Country Club, closing with three-straight birdies. She shares the 54-hole lead at 6 under with Sei Young Kim (68). In Gee Chun (69) and Jennifer Kupcho (69) are at 5 under.
All of the above are majors winners. Korda and Chun have three, Kim and Kupcho one.
“I would say experience definitely plays a big role in the leaderboard, how it kind of shapes up in major championships,” Korda said. “But I’m just grateful to be in this position to be playing another 18 holes in this championship and, you know, have a chance for it.”
So, too, do others looking for their first major win. Gaby Lopez saved par on her final hole, hitting a hybrid approach from a sidehill lie in the rough, en route to a 70. She’s at 4 under alongside Nasa Hataoka (68) and Ruoning Yin (71). Charley Hull (65) leads a group at 3 under, which also includes overnight leader Alison Lee (72).
Amid the crowd, Korda stands out.
She finished runner-up at this championship a year ago at Erin Hills. She began that final round three behind eventual winner Maja Stark, and made a valiant run before a late stumble left her two back.
That was part of a winless campaign for Korda, who also lost her status as world No. 1. This year, however, has been different. She won her season debut, finished runner-up in her next three events, won The Chevron Championship, and won the next week in Mexico. (A tie for eighth in her most recent start, three weeks ago in Cincinnati, is her worst finish of the year.)
And, of course, she reclaimed world No. 1.
A big aspect in her change of fortune is a shift in attitude. Korda has repeatedly said this year that she has worked to accept outcomes and dull on-course frustrations.
“I started at the beginning of the year writing positive notes to myself in my bathroom,” she said. “And I’ve seen a bunch of athletes do that. So other athletes inspire me, too. I started doing that and it’s a great reminder and I do it occasionally here and there. I travel with Post-it notes and I stick ‘em on to the mirror when I get ready and I write myself a positive note and that’s my thought for the week.”
Korda, who has twice won The Chevron in addition to the KPMG Women’s PGA (two of the tour’s five majors), hasn’t been shy about her desire to claim her national championship. But she has as many missed cuts as she does top-10s (three each) in 11 career starts.
While her favorite number is 13, 12 could soon hold a special meaning.
After opening in 2-over 73, Korda made a grip change, strengthening it on the advice of sister Jessica, and shot 67. She began Saturday’s third round two off the lead and promptly birdied two of her first six holes — including a chip-in on the third and an 18-footer on the sixth.
A bogey at the par-4 eighth was her only dropped shot of the day as she made an 8-footer for par on the 13th and a 5-footer for the same on No. 15. Maintaining momentum, Korda finished birdie-birdie-birdie.
She hit her tee shot to 5 feet on the par-3 16th, hit an exquisite chip shot to tap-in range on the par-5 17th, and finished with a iron from 154 yards to 4 feet at the last. She said she “smoked” her final two drives.
“I would say major championships are about grinding and then kind of when have you that little window to be aggressive, you really have to take it,” Korda said. “So I’m really happy with how I grinded out the front nine and then took the opportunities that I had on the last three holes.”
Korda has 15 regular LPGA wins to go with her three major titles. Along with an Olympic gold medal and a Rolex Player of the Year award, she currently has 23 LPGA Hall of Fame points. Twenty-seven are needed for entry, with a major victory worth two points.