Nelly Korda is still in the mix to win her third straight major championship on Sunday, although on Saturday she was still a bit bothered by what she left out there in the third round.
Korda lost 1.178 strokes to the field on the greens during the third round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine in Chaska, Minn., which ranked 55th among the field. It erased a good ball-striking day, in which she ranked 9th in Strokes Gained: Tee to green.
Korda shot a one-under 71, and she’s tied with Alison Lee at seven under. They are four back of the leader, Haeran Ryu, who shot 68 and at 11 under is the solo leader.
After winning the first two majors of the season, a victory Sunday means Korda would be just the third player in history to win the first three majors of the season. A victory would also give her the 27 points necessary to gain entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
Korda said how aggressive she can be Sunday depends on the weather.
“The greens are pretty slick; they don’t have too much grass on them,” Korda said. “The short putts are pretty difficult. Putting in general, when it gets this windy, you have to calculate in the wind, too, and a gust here and there. Sometimes you just aren’t as confident with your lines.”
Also in contention is Brooke Henderson, who shot 69 on Saturday, and Ina Yoon, who is eyeing her first major victory.
It’s been a particularly notable week for Henderson already. Her sister, Brittany, gave birth to a daughter on Thursday. Brittany caddied for Brooke up until she stepped away due to her pregnancy.
“It’s been an awesome week,” Brooke Henderson said Sunday. “Honestly, I think it’s just all thanks to my niece coming into this world. I’ve just been really happy. I’ve been working really hard on myself and also my game coming into this week, so I feel like it’s nice to see it pay off a bit.
“But yeah, thanks to my niece, I feel like we’re riding good energy, and I’m just looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow to hopefully post a good round and just see what happens.”
Henderson, Yoon and Ryu are in the final threesome and tee off at 10:25 a.m. ET on Sunday.
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