Nelly Korda
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Our correspondent of St. Andrews Sean Zak is on AIG Women’s Open this week. Here he checks in with fellow statesman Dylan Dethier on Nelly Korda’s run, Lexi Thompson’s rally, a rookie’s odd DQ and more.
Dylan Dethier, GOLF Senior Writer: Hey there, Sean. We are back.
Sean Zak, also a longtime GOLF writer: We’re back!
DD: Day 2 in St. Andrews and has one LOT continuing. Stars in the mix. The stars go home. The stars can barely hang on for some gorgeous cuts. Let’s get to it.
SZ: Trust me.
DD: You were there early on with the powerhouse lineup of Nelly Korda, Charley Hull and Lilia Vu. These are also the top three names on the leaderboard! (Korda is eight under, while Hull and Vu are T2 at five under.) I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that in a second round at a major. You wrote about Nelly’s round herebut tell me in one sentence: How has she built a three-shot bullet?
SZ: To answer that, I think back to the final round of the Olympics. She left the range and a fan shouted: “Hey Nelly, great day to be a ball striker!” They were right. It was windy, the course was tough, it was hard as hell. And while it didn’t work for him that day, it’s working for him here. After that round, she noted some swinging ball shots. This week? So far, her ball-striking has been fantastic.
This is who Nelly Korda is. Never get into trouble. Hitting it up to 30 feet when the shot calls for it. never three-putting. There is a lot of focus on her putter at the moment, but I think her key to success is avoiding pot bunkers and carving elegant iron shots into this constant headwind. A lot of ladies are uncomfortable here, but she made it look cool. That’s more than a sentence, but you get the idea.
DD: If a sentence is good, I think more is better. Who is the crowd favourite: Korda or Hull?
SZ: Can I pass? Just because I think it’s both. Lilia Vu is the reigning champion and also in their group and it’s clear that most of the love is for Nelly and Charley. If you’re looking for my pick, I think there’s a bit more electricity in Hull, but Nelly has the upper hand and at some point the crowd will go down with an all-time winner in an all-time venue.
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DD: Linn Grant had one of the best rounds of the afternoon on Friday (she got to four under before making double on 17 to finish with a 71). Grant doesn’t just have one of the game’s best swings — she also busted out some tall, white earplugs. Athletic chic meets, I don’t know, EDM winter concert.
Are you in or out of this look?
SZ: I really like Linn Grant, but I really don’t know about this one. Today was better than yesterday when she was rocking the hot pink sweater underneath, but when I see high peaks I struggle to see anything but boxing shoes. Fair enough, it’s a full match with Mother Nature at this point, so if grabbing the chaos code is working for him, why not?
DD: I was here wondering if we were going to watch the final major championship round of Lexi Thompson’s retirement season. Then she started making the birds. then she blocked an OB at no. 17. But then she gathered to make the cut. Any notable sights and sounds from Lexi this week? And how impressive was that evening gathering?
SZ: I think a round like Lex’s today is exactly why her retirement will remain a little strange for a while. She may be looking for more from life than just the golf tournament, but there’s something there that’s still questionable, as we’ve seen this summer. I walked her for a good Thursday and she looks just like the Lexi we’ve known for so long. She has such power inside the ropes, beating many of the best players in the world, and she has such power and grace outside the ropes when she’s around the fans. After making the cut, I’m curious if she’ll stop for some kind of wave at the Swilcan Bridge this weekend.
6-hour rounds?! 4 bands on one tee?! How the Women’s Open turned into a slog
Sean Zak
DD: LPGA rookie Ana Pelaez Trivino was disqualified on Friday after her tee shot used a rangefinder on both No. 10 and No. 18. Sean, you’ve played several rounds on the PGA Tour, where rangefinders are not allowed during the tournament. I know the LPGA uses rangefinders, but still — you can’t do that! How does this happen?! Are you charming?
SZ: Similarity, perhaps? Like rolling into every tournament and seeing some of the same notes from the tournament officials and the same rules on the cork board and the same notice on the merchandise boxes. You lulled into a sense of sameness, I suppose? I’m not sure how it happens, but my instinct is to make excuses for my friend. We corpses stand together. You should know this.
DD: I stand with you. When a caddy screws up we all do. Finally: With 36 holes to play and the lead at eight under par, how far back is too far?
SZ: I will hold LOT more people in the game for this than you think. The world’s best player leads by three, but she has had a very strange summer and has yet to find trouble this week. So let’s say the lead is really only five under. I think five under can win this tournament, so whoever shoots consecutive 69s from one over the first round gets into a playoff. Anything worse than an over is out of the running.
DD: Good news for us: we are still equal. Thanks mate. Happy Friday.
