Nelly Korda had a hard time getting out of bed, but she showed no signs of fatigue at the Solheim Cup, shooting a bogey-free 67 to move two strokes behind leader Ashley Buhai at the LPGA Tour Championship.
Korda and Leona Maguire also shot 6-under 67 and were among the 11 players who played in last week’s Solheim Cup to quickly get back in the game at TPC River’s Bend.
Buhai, a former Women’s British Open champion from South Africa, isn’t part of the Solheim Cup and had a few weeks to rest from an injury-plagued season.
She ran off eight birdies for her seven-under 65, giving her a one-shot lead over Jeeno Thitikul and Yan Liu. “This just goes to show that rest is just as important,” Buhai said. “If the coach comes and gives us five days to warm up, we know we’ve done a good job, and yes, it was good that it paid off today.”
Korda at least had time to take a nap in the afternoon after the early start. Last week, the U.S. beat Europe for the first time in seven years with a 3-1 victory in the Solheim Cup.
“I’m looking forward to the atmosphere today where I can sleep in all day,” he said. “It was really hard getting up this morning, but I love competing and I love being here,” Korda said. “Everyone who played last week is going to be tired. She knows her energy levels aren’t the best, but she’s still motivated.
She found more motivation in keeping a clean sheet than in hitting five birdies.
“Nothing’s better than minimizing or not making mistakes,” Korda said. “I think when you get a round without a bogey, it’s motivating. I’m hoping to carry that energy into the next three days.”
Maguire played just two matches last week and played in all five matches in her previous two appearances. She was frustrated with her absence, especially after easily beating Ellie Ewing (ranked No. 4 and No. 3) in singles.
But there was probably more to it than that.
“I played five games in the last two games before Solheim and I was exhausted after Solheim,” she said. “It’s very nice to have a little fresh time.”
Coda and Maguire were part of a large 67 -year -old group, including Lydia Ko, who played last three weeks ago and had all reasons for swimming in the air.
Only a month ago, with the Olympic Gold victory, she won the Open Championship in the UK in the St. Endrius. Steph Kyriacou (69) was the best of the Australian contingent, taking 26th place.
The 23-year-old’s three-under-par performance included six birdies and three bogeys. She is one point ahead of her compatriots Robin Choi and Grace Kim, while defending champion Minjee Lee opened the season with 71 points.
