Rolex Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda showed why she deserves that accolade on Friday, carding a 6-under 66 at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club to take the lead at the 2022 Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at -10. Korda’s 66, which included seven birdies and one bogey, is her 10th consecutive round in the 60s, dating back to the 2021 season.
“I missed probably a 10-footer for birdie on 17, which I was disappointed with. It was nice to roll that one in on 18 going into the weekend,” said Korda, who knocked it in from 17 feet on the 18th hole to reach double digits under par. “I couldn't give Derek (Lowe, her celebrity playing partner) all the glory on 18. He stuffed it to like 2 feet, so it's fun.”
She’s not the defending HGV Tournament of Champions winner (that’s her sister Jessica Korda), but Nelly Korda is the most recent LPGA Tour winner at Lake Nona. The course hosted the Gainbridge LPGA last January, and Korda earned the first of her four 2021 Tour victories with a three-stroke win.
“it's very similar to the golf course I play at Concession. I kind of feel more at home here,” said Korda. “I love the golf course, love the layout. I love that it's a good challenge, the rough is pretty thick this year, too. So I kind of like to embrace those challenges.”
A pair of well-seasoned TOC competitors are tied for second at -9. Danielle Kang, who lost in a playoff in 2021, shot a bogey-free 67 on Friday, including a hole-out eagle from 155 yards at No. 7. It was her 16th bogey-free round since 2020, behind only Lydia Ko, who shot her 18th bogey-free round in the same span today.
“I was having a little bit of a slow start. I struck the ball well on the front nine, gave myself awesome opportunities probably 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and hit good putts and they just weren't dropping,” said Kang. “I wanted to hit it really close on 7. Even on 2 I probably landed around 2 inches from the hole and spun back to about 8 feet and ended up missing the putt. On 7 I was like, ‘Let's just hit it as close as possible.’ I saw the ball tracing and I went, ‘Just go so close I don't have to putt’ and then it went in, so it was super cool.”
Joining Kang at -9 is Gaby Lopez, who survived a seven-hole playoff to win the 2020 Tournament of Champions. An eagle at No. 9 joined four birdies and two bogeys in her roller-coaster second-round 68.
“My caddie tells me all the time, like, ‘Okay, there is no expectations’, but I want an intention, right? I don't want just to be, ‘Okay, where is my game,’” said Lopez of her season-opening mentality. “Being able to be aggressive when I have to and be smart when I have to, it's been really, really good for my game this week.”
In the celebrity competition, World Series champion Derek Lowe moved to the top of the leaderboard at +69, one point ahead of 72-time LPGA Tour winner and Lake Nona resident Annika Sorenstam and MLB All-Star Mark Mulder. Lowe played with Nelly Korda on Friday and raved about the grace of her golf game.
“I think she gets over a bad hole, a bad shot so fast that I try to learn from that,” said Lowe. “Obviously as amateurs, we give her space. She doesn't make many bogeys, but if she does happen to have a bad hole she gets over it in ten seconds. That's what all great athletes have to do because you can't do anything about it.”
)
)
)
)
