Nelly Korda – Photo by Max Bechtoldt/Women’s Golf Daily News
In the opening round of the Ford Championship played at Whirlwind Golf Club near Phoenix, the last two champions of the event, Nelly Korda and Hyo Joo Kim, where fantastic.
Korda and Kim dueled just last Sunday in Menlo Park at the Fortinet Founders Cup, where Kim outlasted the No. 2 ranked player in the world. They were back paired together Thursday and kept that strong momentum.
Going off on the back nine, Korda made three birdies in her first eight holes before the fireworks really started. On the par 4 18, Korda hit in from the fairway for an eagle, with the large crowd in the stands causing what seemed like a mini earthquake. It was as loud as anything I’ve heard at an LPGA Tour event and could be heard throughout the massive property.
Korda kept a clean card throughout the round, with four more birdies and no dropped shots on her way to a -9 63. On any other day, that would probably be the first round lead, but favorable conditions had the scores super low.
One of those players with a super low score was Kim, who shot a -11 61. Kim had a solid first round with three birdies and no dropped shots, but really took off on the back nine. Kim made six birdies on the back nine and Kim added an eagle of her own on the eighth hole, her 17th of the day. Kim hit 16 greens and had just 24 putts.
Korda and Kim will go out Friday afternoon in the later wave alongside Lexi Thompson, who shot +3 in her opening round thanks to a first nine triple bogey.
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