Nelly Korda stayed inside the top five at the Aramco Championship after 36 holes, keeping herself within striking distance heading into the weekend at Shadow Creek.
Nelly Korda is still very much in the hunt at the Aramco Championship, and that’s the headline heading into the weekend at Shadow Creek.
The world No. 2 opened with a 4-under 68, followed it with a 2-over 74, and sits at 2-under through 36 holes, tied for fourth and six shots behind leader Lauren Coughlin.
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The first round looked much more like vintage Korda.
She mixed four birdies and an eagle into her 68, climbing near the top of the leaderboard on a course that rarely gives away many easy looks.
Her finish was especially important, with an eagle at the par-5 18th pushing her to within one shot of the overnight lead after Thursday’s opening round.
Friday was tougher. Korda briefly got to 5-under after a birdie at the 11th, but the round turned with consecutive bogeys, and a double bogey on the first hole of her back nine knocked her out of the lead group.
Even so, she steadied herself well enough to stay on the first page of the leaderboard, which matters on a demanding layout like Shadow Creek.
That’s what makes Korda dangerous here. She doesn’t need a miracle to win, just one hot stretch. And her recent form says that kind of charge is absolutely possible.
LPGA tournament coverage notes she already won the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions this season and finished runner-up at both the Fortinet Founders Cup and the Ford Championship.
There’s also history on her side. Korda has already won at Shadow Creek before, capturing the 2024 T-Mobile Match Play at the same venue, and she remains one of the best closers in women’s golf with 16 LPGA Tour victories.
Heading into the weekend, she’s close enough to make this very interesting.
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