Tiger Woods once said that the beauty of golf is that it is much more relatable for the fans compared to other sports. People may not be able to relate to dunking from the free throw line in basketball or facing a 100 mph fastball in baseball, but golfers of all kinds know what it's like to shank an iron shot or miss an easy putt.
Nelly Korda proved his point in Round 1 at the 2024 U.S. Women's Open Championship.
The No. 1 golfer on the LPGA Tour is off to a sensational season in 2024. She strung together four consecutive wins earlier this year, putting her on the verge of history if she had won a fifth in a row, but Korda settled for the quartet.
But even the most talented golfers in the world have their bad days, and Korda suffered one of her worst on Thursday. The 25-year-old could not have dreamt of a worse start to the major event, putting together an ugly showing to kick off the competition at the Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Here are more details on Korda's rough start to the 2024 U.S. Women's Open Championship.
MORE: U.S. Women's Open schedule, TV coverage, more for 2024 event
Nelly Korda scores 10 on Hole 12
Korda began the 2024 U.S. Women's Open Championship on the back 9 at Lancaster Country Club. She didn't get out to a hot start on her first hole, shooting a bogey on No. 10, but responded with a par on No. 11.
Then, every golfer's worst nightmare occurred.
No. 12 is a 183-yard, par 3 with a penalty area in front of the green. Korda initially avoided the penalty area, as her tee shot hit onto the green, but she put too much on it, and it rolled off into the sand trap.
This is when everything fell apart. Her next three shots all fell into the penalty area, forcing her to take an extra stroke each time. By the time she finally sat her ball onto the green, she was already eight strokes in.
Two more putts gave her an ugly score of 10 on the hole and immediately dropped her to 8-over par — just three holes into the competition.
World No 1 women's golfer Nelly Korda cards a 10 (!) at the par-3 12th at the US Women's Open #OneOfUs pic.twitter.com/pknN91pLKT
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) May 30, 2024
Nelly Korda just put three balls in the water on the par-3 12th hole to make a 10.
— James Colgan (@jamescolgan26) May 30, 2024
Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/sBmejXuWd8
Pro golfers really are just like us ... sometimes.
Nelly Korda score today
Korda put together her worst score to par in a single round in LPGA career on Thursday, posting 10-over par at Lancaster.
She failed to secure a single birdie throughout the first nine holes, settling for four pars and two bogeys, putting her at 10-over par halfway through the day. While she managed to secure three birdies on her final nine holes, the No. 1 golfer paired that with three bogeys, ending the day remaining at 10-over.
There is still time left for Korda to drop her score, with the second round on Friday before the field is cut down. However, she is going to have to play some lights-put golf if she wants to stay in the hunt for her first U.S. Women's Open.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | OUT | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | IN | TOTAL | |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 35 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 80 |
| Status | +10 | +10 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +11 | +10 | +9 | +10 | +1 | +1 | +8 | +8 | +8 | +9 | +9 | +10 | +10 | — | +10 |
