RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) – The numbers suggested a stress-free time in the desert for Nelly Korda, who had five birdies on Friday and a clean card Friday for a 5-under 67 to build a two-shot lead by going into the hot weekend all day. ‘ANA Inspiration.
All he could think of were two par.
The only fairway she missed was on her eleventh hole, the second par-5, and she was badly out of position all the way until she made an 18-foot par putt to escape her big mess. One hole later, after hitting a big shot from the fairway, he still had to par putt from about 25 feet.
“I didn’t know what I was doing on those two holes,” Korda said. “I was glad those two came in. Golf is all about momentum, so you throw one here and there and it makes it a lot easier.”
Just calculate to get harder from here.
Korda was 11-under 133, two shots more than Mirim Lee, who also played no bogey in the rising heat for a 65. Joining them in the final group is a daunting figure around here, Lexi Thompson, a past champion in Mission Hills which can overwhelm the Dinah Shore course.
Thompson quickly made up ground with three birds in a four-hole stretch at the start of his round, including a 220-yard 6-foot 4-iron on the second par 5 (missed the eagle putt) and a 164-yard 9-iron. yard on the par-3 fifth which resulted in a 15 foot birdie.
With the tee shifted to par-5 18, he swung towards the fences and nearly dragged her into the lake, spared from the September date as the ball sinks instead of rolling into the Bermuda rough. She contented herself with par and a 67 to finish four shots behind, together with Nanna Koertz Madsen (69).
“I’ve left a few out there, but I’ve also done a lot of good putts,” Thompson said.
Danielle Kang looked ready to join the chase, a great week as she is expected to reach number 1 in the world with a win. Its momentum was slowed by insects, a brick wall and a bridge.
Kang entered too steeply on a wedge from the 10th fairway and was 10 feet from the green. She chose to use her putter, but pulled back three times from the bugs flying around her face. Then, he left it 7 feet short and missed the par putt. She crept to the bottom of the green, clearly annoyed, and was of no help when she and Anna Nordqvist were put to the clock.
Kang was in a bad mood, walking fast after missing putts. On the 15th, he teed near a wall, and after asking if he could get relief – it was a boundary wall, so no – he hit the wall trying to get it back into the fairway. He only went about 10 yards and had to scramble for the bogey.
And then on the 18th, his approach crossed the green and right on the carpeted bridge across Poppie’s Pond. He pitched from the deck at 6 feet and missed the birdie putt for a 71. He was six shots back, still in the mix.
Korda, however, looked solid. Thompson’s name on the board stands out for his power and his record in Mission Hills.
Korda hit 13 fairways, not the hardest task with lush Bermuda grass reducing the amount of ball rolls. Most impressively, only four greens and 26 putts on already baked and fast greens were missing.
“Certainly very happy with my put today, and I was superbly happy with bogey-free,” she said.
He caught two little birds on the par 3 on the back nine and looked like he could return those shots when he teed his tee shot on the No. 2. She considered taking a drop off the cart path until she realized it was going to be very rough, then hit the 4-hybrid about 100 feet to the right, without leaving the corner.
“Almost dead over there,” he said. “Honestly, I was super glad I pulled that putt in. I was like, ‘Get me out of this hole.”
The greens were pure in the morning, although getting the speed right was crucial because they are pulling out a few more meters, giving an even greater reward to the pace.
“The thing here is that you hit a solid putt and keep going,” Korda said. “You think it will stop and keep releasing, so then you say, ‘This is a good putt, this could possibly go in’, and then release 5 to 6 feet because that’s just how it is out here. I’ve had a lot of 5’s and 6’s. feet for par today. “
And he did them all. The decision to move to a low left hand hold at the Women’s British Open three weeks ago at the Royal Troon seems like the right move. And his confidence is growing.
Temperatures are also heading in that direction, with a forecast of around 105-110 degrees for the weekend.
The weekend will include five of the six amateurs, tying a record to this event. Leading the way was Gabriela Ruffels 5 down, with Rose Zhang another shot back. Zhang won the US Women’s Amateur last month, denying Ruffels streak victories.
