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Nelly Korda all but surrendered her chances of contending the US Women’s Open title yesterday.

The world No.1 – looking for a seventh win in her last eight starts – carded a septuple-bogey ten on the controversial par-3 12th.

But for all of Korda’s dominant brilliance, she found herself in a familiar position.

In signing for a round of ten-over-par at Lancaster Country Club, Korda fired a round in the 80s for successive championships.

The 25-year-old ended last year’s US Women’s Open with an eight-over-par finale at Pebble Beach.

And speaking on Golf Central’s Live from the US Women’s Open, analyst Brandel Chamblee called out Korda’s strategy.

“You get it in the rough, you gotta get out of the rough,” he said. “As we look at Nelly Korda, when she does get in trouble, she’s got to get out of trouble.

“She’s got so many skills. Get back in play, make the bogey and move on.”

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Bizarrely enough, it came after Chamblee seemingly predicted the calamity before a ball had been struck.

He voiced concerns over the two-time major champion’s knack of making life difficult at the USGA-sanctioned championship.

“She’s played in nine of them [US Opens],” said Chamblee.

“When you look at what she’s done in US Opens, she’s gotten herself in trouble and hasn’t done a great job of getting herself out of trouble.

“She’s almost averaged three double bogeys or higher per championship.”

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After eventually finding safety on the lightning-fast green, Korda two-putted. And despite others struggling, Korda is now in a fight to make the cut.

She last missed the weekend at the KPMG PGA Championship 12 months ago.

“Just honestly, I just didn’t play well today,” Korda commented after the round. “I didn’t hit it good. I found myself in the rough a lot. Making a 10 on a par-3 will definitely not do you any good at a U.S. Open.

“I’m human. I’m going to have bad days. I played some really solid golf up to this point. Today was just a bad day. That’s all I can say.”


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John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.

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