Nelly Korda sits four back of Jeeno Thitikul at Women's PGA, says neck is on the mend
Nelly Korda sits four back of Jeeno Thitikul at Women's PGA, says neck is on the mend
FRISCO, Texas – Nelly Korda finds herself in solid position after Round 1 of the KPMG Women's PGA and, most importantly, her neck is on the mend.
The world No. 1 said it's still hard to get comfortable when she sleeps, and she feels pain when she moves her neck side to side, but when she hits a golf ball, she's OK as long as it's taped up.
Korda originally injured her neck last fall, and said when she tweaks it now, it usually takes a week to recover. Earlier this year at the LPGA match-play event in Las Vegas, Korda suffered a spasm while sleeping and couldn't move before her match against Ariya Jutanugarn.
This time around, Korda suffered a spasm after hitting a ball out of the rough on Monday at the Fields Ranch Each course in Frisco. The rough isn't high, but it sinks down in the Northbridge Bermuda, often forcing players to wedge out.
Korda opened with an even-par 72 on a steamy day in Texas to trail world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul by four strokes.
"Probably going to play a little firmer tomorrow,' said Korda. 'The golf course is just kind of played firmer and faster every single day.'
After winning seven times in 2024, Korda remains winless this season, though she leads the tour in scoring with a 69.07 average. When it comes to scoring at the majors, Korda leads that, too, by a mile since the beginning of last year. Korda's cumulative score in relation to par over the last seven majors is 14 under, with Ruoning Yin coming in second at 9 under.
Korda's play off the tee has been so strong, she has gained a full stroke on the field with her driver over the past two major championship seasons, according to the KPMG Performance Insights.
'I was hitting it well off the tee into the greens, and just didn't really give myself too many great looks,' said Korda.
'But I played pretty solid, I think, for the first day of a major. I mean, the pins were tough out there today.'
Thitikul could overtake Korda as the No. 1 player with a victory this week, should Korda finish 11th or worse. Korda has been atop the Rolex Rankings for the past 65 weeks, dating back to March 2024. Thitikul spent two weeks in the No. 1 spot in the fall of 2022.
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