Nelly Korda has admitted that two key moments over the weekend’s action at the AIG Women’s Open cost her the chance of a third Major title.
The World No.1 held a two-shot lead heading into the par-5 14th at the Old Course, St Andrews, but disaster struck when her fourth shot didn't make it up the bank of the green and left her with a par chip. She narrowly failed to make it, while her bogey putt drifted right of the hole to leave her with a costly double bogey.
In the end, she needed an eagle on the 18th for the chance of a playoff with eventual winner Lydia Ko, but she could only manage par to fall two shots short.
The error on the 14th followed a similar capitulation during Korda’s back nine in the third round, which included three bogeys and a double bogey on the 16th, and she reflected on those mistakes after finishing in a four-way tie for second.
She said: “Listen, it's golf. I'm going to mess up and unfortunately I messed up over the weekend twice in two penalising ways coming down the stretch. Theoretically that's what kind of cost me the tournament but I played well. I played solid. I even fought after that. I'm going to take that into the next coming events.”
Korda began 2024 in spectacular fashion, winning six of her first eight tournaments, including the first Major of the year, the Chevron Championship. However, she has had a trickier time of it since June’s US Women’s Open, where she missed the cut, and is hopeful her performance in Scotland is a sign that she is getting back on track.
She said: “Yeah, obviously in hindsight, I played really well this week, and hopefully that is going to be trending in the right direction again.”
Korda was particularly pleased with her form on the greens after making a putter switch before the tournament, adding: “I made some good putts. I mean, overall, I think I putted really well this week. I hit the ball really well with the conditions.”
Korda is not in the field for this week's FM Championship on the LPGA Tour, so her attention will now turn to will now turn to her fourth appearance at the Solheim Cup, which takes place between 13 and 15 September, after finishing top of the US points list.
