"I still have 36 more holes"- Nelly Korda looks ahead after quadruple bogey disaster during round 2 of the Paris Olympics
Nelly Korda nearly posted one of the best scores of the second round of women's golf at Paris 2024. The Tokyo 2021 champion was 6 under until the 15th hole and tied for second.
An extraordinary complication on the 16th hole (quadruple bogey) dropped her way down the leaderboard. However, Korda remains positive about her performance and believes she has the chance to challenge for the title.
After the second round, Nelly Korda had this to say (via Golf Monthly):
"We'll see. I'm going to try. I'm going to always try my hardest and I'm going to - if I'm hitting it well off the tee which I was today and I was hitting good shots in and I was giving myself opportunities, yes. If I'm hitting it bad, then no, it's tough to do that out here."
She added:
"It's all about if I can get my whole game together for the next two days, and if I would have done this on the last day or let's say the third day, then I would be extremely heartbroken."
"But I still have 36 more holes and anything can happen. I'm trying to see the positive in this. You know, Scottie [Scheffler] came back, shot 9-under and he won. So you know, if you're hitting your shots, then you're staying present, and I think anything can happen."
Paris 2024 is Nelly Korda's second Olympic experience. At Tokyo 2021, she won the gold medal, one stroke ahead of Mone Inami (silver) and Lydia Ko (bronze).
A look at Nelly Korda's performance in the second round of Paris Olympics golf
Nelly Korda got off to a slow start in the Paris Olympics golf competition, shooting even par in her first round. Korda struggled until the seventh hole (three bogeys and no birdies), but recovered to card three birdies and no bogeys for the rest of the round.
On the second day, Korda came out full speed. She birdied the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 9th holes without a bogey to finish the front nine at 4 under. She continued at a good pace on the back nine with two more birdies and no bogeys until the 15th.
The debacle came on the par-3, 136-yard 16th hole. Korda sent her tee shot into the water, forcing her to take a penalty stroke. Her third shot landed in a bunker, and her fourth went over the green and into the left fringe.
Her fifth shot reached the green and left the ball within seven feet of the pin. But she missed the putt and finished the hole in seven (+4).
On the 17th, Korda again missed a short putt (5 feet) for par, bringing her score for the round (which had been 6 under) to 1 under. Finally, she birdied the 18th to finish at 2 under for the round and the event.
With this performance, Korda is tied for 12th place, six shots behind leader Morgane Metraux.