Through one round at the Amundi Evian Championship, the two major champions of 2026 went in very different directions.
Nelly Korda, the winner of the first two majors of the year, is a bit on the ropes to even just make the cut after a +3 74 round, which puts her 11 back. She is on the longest made cut streak of her career, dating back over two full years.
Korda actually started pretty well in her round, making an early birdie on the par 4 12th, her third hole of the day. She made a group of pars before a bogey on the par 5 18th to give her an even par first nine.
It didn’t get any easier when she made the turn over to the front nine. Korda had a double bogey on the challenging opening hole, then added to more bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes. She did get a birdie on the scorecard on her final hole of the day, but by then, it was too late.
Korda’s putter must improve drastically. Regardless of how her performance was on approach, 34 putts is far too many for a player looking to contend. She actually hit 11/13 fairways, but struggled from there. Korda has dug herself into a bit of a hole at the last couple majors, but this may be too much.
Playing alongside her, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner was in excellent form. Ryu made four front nine birdies without any dropped shots, and continued playing well after the turn with two birdies. She did drop her lone shot of the day on the par 3 eighth hole, her 17th of the day.
The final member of the group, Lottie Woad, shot -4 to get herself in nice position to contend moving forward.
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