"Made too many stupid, silly mistakes" - Nelly Korda bids goodbye to 6th straight LPGA win, sits 11 shots back at Cognizant Founders Cup after Day 3
Nelly Korda's hope for a sixth straight win on LPGA Tour became bleak after her performance dipped at the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup on Day 3. On the final day, she will need a miracle to overcome the 11-stroke gap between her and the leader, Madelene Sagstrom.
Prior to the third round, Korda was at 9-under, trailing the 36-hole leaders Sagstrom and Rose Zhang by four strokes, a deficit that seemed recoverable in the remaining two rounds. However, she ended up shooting 1-over 73 on Saturday, May 11, where she birdied just three holes and made five bogeys.
While Nelly Korda remained in third place, the gap between her and the Swedish veteran increased to a whopping 11 strokes after the latter shot 66. During the post-round interview, she reflected on her round, which dashed her hopes of becoming the first player to win six straight titles on the LPGA Tour.
"It's just kind of poor in all aspects," she said. "Yesterday was good in everything and today was poor in everything, so that's just pretty much golf for you. Yeah, just made too many kind of stupid, silly mistakes, which was unfortunate because they were playing so well. So now there is just a massive gap."
Previously, Korda tied with Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam to win the most titles in as many starts on the LPGA Tour. She won the LPGA Drive On Championship, FIR Hills Seri Pak Championship, Ford Championship, T-Mobile Match Play, and most recently the Chevron Championship.
When will Nelly Korda tee off at the 2024 Cognizant Founders Cup on Sunday?
Nelly Korda is paired with Mao Saigo for the final round of the Cognizant Founders Cup. The duo will tee off on Sunday, May 12, at 12:25 pm ET. Korda is tied at third alongside Sei Young Kim, Gabriela Ruffels both of whom carded 67 in the third round. Saigo shot 68 to move 10 spots on Saturday.
54 hole leader Madelene Sagstrom is paired with Rose Zhang for the Sunday round will tee off at 12:45 pm ET. Zhang shot 67 in the third round and slipped one shot behind Sagstrom with just 18 holes to go. She is looking for her first win since winning her debut start Mizuho Americas Open last year. Sagstrom is also in quest of her first LPGA Tour win in four years.