BRADENTON, Fla. ― Playing in her backyard seemed to agree with Nelly Korda.
Meanwhile, Lydia Ko picked up right where she left off.
Korda, 25, the world’s No. 4-ranked player, shook off a bogey on her first hole to post six birdies and an eagle the rest of the way, good for a first-round score of 6-under 65 and a tie for the lead in the LPGA Drive On Championship as Korda entered the clubhouse at the Bradenton Country Club.
But before Thursday’s round was over, Korda could only share the lead with Ko, the winner at last week’s season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions in Orlando. The 26-year-old from New Zealand, a 20-time winner on the LPGA Tour, carded six birdies, the final one on the 17th hole, to pull even with Korda at minus-6 of the $1.75 million event, the first full-field event of the season.
Right behind Korda and Ko is Danish golfer Nanna Koerstz Madsen at 5-under. At minus-4 is the quartet of Sei Young Kim, Chanettee Wannasaen, Minji Kang, and Ruoning Yin, the latter ranked second in the world behind Lilia Vu. Six other players are at 3-under.
Lydia Ko plays her shot from the 10th tee during the first round of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton Country Club in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
After carding a 5 on the par-4 No. 1 hole, Korda got into minus territory with birdies on 2 and 3. Three more birdies, plus an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole, sent her into the turn at 5 under. A birdie on No. 10 moved her to 6 under, but a bogey on 15, followed by a birdie on 17, kept Korda at 6 under into the clubhouse.
“A majority of my putts came, birdies came on the front nine today,” Korda said. “Then kind of hit some loose shots on the back nine but still came in 1-under par. Overall pretty happy in pretty tough conditions.”
The wind, she said, made the already difficult greens even tougher.
“Yeah, the greens are very difficult,” Korda said. “Obviously when you have kind of gusty 20-mile-an-hour winds it definitely makes it even a little harder. So sometimes clubbing up two clubs and trying to hit apunch shot to stay under the wind was key. Everyone is dealing with it, so just got to take it as it goes, try to giveyourself as many opportunities as possible.”
In Orlando, Ko’s minus-14 total was two strokes better than American Alexa Pano. This came after a 2023 season in which Ko was winless in 20 events.
“I played really solid, especially in the first half of our round today,” Ko said afterward. “The wind was really strong, and I had actually seen the forecast yesterday that normally the wind you would think would pick up throughout the day, and it was actually going to die down towards our back nine, so in ways I think we got pretty lucky.
“Last couple days it has been really windy, and I think the wind plays a huge factor around here,” she said. “Some of the holes, you know, it might normally be a straightforward hole, but because of the wind it makes it a lot more difficult. But just trying to feed off what was going well last week, and overall I thought I played really solid. Just kind of working on the same things. I did a 45-minute lesson with my coach on Monday just making sure that, hey, last week was great, but I’m focusing on what’s ahead and trying to play the best golf I can this week.”
Madsen, the first Dane to win an LPGA event when she captured the 2022 Honda LPGA Thailand, went 3 under on the back nine to forge her 5-under round.
“Yeah, it was a good day,” the 29-year-old said. “I played steady golf. Missed a green here and there but made an up and down. My approach was just staying ― being a little patient out there because it was a grind. I mean, it was a lot of wind out there, so keep it on the high side of the hole.”
Madsen went a month last year without picking up a club.
“I mean, it’s kind of different from year to year what I need, but this year I really needed to put away the clubs,” she said. “Didn’t feel like I was there mentally and stuff, so I think really mentally really helped me putting away the clubs for a little while and get a new perspective on things.”
Among other favorites, Vu finds herself tied for 86th after carding a 3-over. Celine Boutier, ranked third in the world, is tied for 25th at 1-under, as is Lexi Thompson. And 37-year-old Paula Creamer is tied for 58th at 1 over.
