Nelly Korda’s improbable fall leads missed cut at KPMG Women’s PGA

SAMMAMISH, Wash. – It was a round, as Golf Channel analyst Morgan Pressel said, when everything seemed to go wrong at the same time for Nelly Korda. The World No. 1 began the day in a share of second and ended it packing up her suitcase after a second-round 81 and finished at 6 over for two days.

It was a shocking turn of events for a player who carded an opening 69 at Sahalee Country Club and looked primed to contend for a seventh title of 2024 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Korda agreed to talk outside the scoring area after the round but had to walk away before answering the first question to compose herself.

“It’s just golf recently for me,” she said through tears. “No words for how I’m playing right now. I’m just going to go home and reset.”

Korda bogeyed the first four holes and never recovered at the beautiful but punishing tree-lined stunner, carding a 6-over 42 on the front nine. On the back, it only got worse as she hit her second shot out of bounds from the left rough on the par-4 15th and made double bogey. An emotional Korda looked on in disbelief as she finished up the hole.

This marks the first time Korda has missed three consecutive cuts in her LPGA career. The 81 ties her highest score on the LPGA. In many ways, it was a more shocking day than the 10 she carded on the third hole of her U.S. Women’s Open.

“A lot went my way at the beginning part of the year and just giving it back,” she said.

The cut fell at 5 over for the championship. Here’s a look at other notable names who won’t be around for the weekend at Sahalee:

Nasa Hataoka of Japan hits a tee shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 20, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

After a difficult-to-stomach disqualification at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, Hataoka couldn’t recover from an opening-round 77 at Sahalee.

Sei Young Kim of South Korea hits a tee shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club on June 21, 2024 in Sammamish, Washington. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

2020 KPMG Women’s PGA champ Kim carded rounds of 76-75.