JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Defending champion Nelly Korda is tied for the lead heading into the weekend at the Mizuho Americas Open after posting a 4-under 68 in round two at Liberty National Golf Club.

The current Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 began her title defense with a 68, making two bogeys and six birdies during the first round in Jersey City, N.J., and then had to battle some chilly, soggy conditions on Friday to climb into contention with 36 holes remaining. She made a quick birdie on the par-3 11th hole to move to 5-under early in her second round and picked up another birdie on the par-3 14th hole to get to 6-under for the tournament.

Korda’s momentum was stalled by a pair of back-to-back bogeys that came on the par-4 17th and par-4 18th holes, two missteps that dropped her back to even-par for the round making the turn, but the 15-time LPGA Tour winner punched back at this difficult venue, landing a birdie on the par-5 1st hole to get back to 5-under overall.

Korda then threw a one-two punch of birdies on par-4 5th and par-5 6th holes to once again sit at 7-under with three holes remaining. She parred seven before making one last birdie on the par-5 8th hole and parring nine to polish off her 68 and now sits in a three-way tie for the lead alongside Andrea Lee and Somi Lee with weekend golf on tap in the Garden State.

“Obviously, the birdie on No. 1 after bogeying my last two holes was a nice momentum shift,” Korda said. “After making two bogeys in a row, you have to reset and know that you have nine more holes to go, and there are some opportunities out there even with the tricky conditions. So I had a little bit of a mental reset, and it worked.”

Liberty National has received a lot of rain throughout the week at the Mizuho Americas Open, but Friday, in particular, saw the field get drenched, with a steady downpour being a constant for the morning wave in round two. The afternoon draw had significantly less moisture to deal with; however, they did experience a couple of intense late-round showers and had to deal with temperatures that significantly dipped into the low 60s and high 50s.

And even though Korda hails from balmy Bradenton, Fla., she knows just how to play good golf in less-than-ideal conditions, picking up at least three of her seven victories in 2024 in either cool or damp weather at the FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship, the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass and The Chevron Championship. It’s all about having a positive mental attitude.

“You just have to know that everyone is dealing with the same thing, and at the end of the day, you really have to focus in 100 percent on the shot that you're hitting,” Korda said. “That was something that I really tried to improve on my back nine today, was really try to dial into every shot, every putt on the back nine.”

Korda is still searching for her first victory of the 2025 LPGA Tour season, and considering that she had already won five tournaments when she came to the Mizuho Americas Open last year, many have questioned what’s been keeping the world No. 1 from claiming her 16th career title in one of the six starts she has made so far this year.

But 2025 has been the furthest thing from a wash for Korda if you leave her 2024 performance out of the conversation.

She hasn’t finished worse than T28 and has racked up four top-20 results, two of which were top-10 finishes that she recorded at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions (2) and the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands (T7). Korda is also either leading or near the top of several statistical categories on the LPGA Tour this season – like scoring average in which she leads at 68.80 strokes per round, for example – and she remains one of the circuit’s most consistent ball strikers.

So, really, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Korda in a tie for the lead and contending in her title defense in Jersey City, N.J. She hasn’t been that far off from being in this position throughout the early part of the year, working hard to stay patient with herself and let the results come to her instead of trying to force success on the golf course.

And that’s a mentality she will continue to lean on over the weekend at the Mizuho Americas Open as Korda pursues just the third successful title defense of her LPGA Tour career at Liberty National Golf Club.

Nelly Korda Contending for 16th Career Title With 36 Holes Remaining at Mizuho Americas Open

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