HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 2 Nelly Korda is still hunting for her first win of the LPGA Tour season, and she’s gotten off to a strong start in pursuit of what’s proven to be an elusive 16th career title this week just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G is the 15-time Tour winner’s 16th event of the 2025 season, and in her 15 previous starts, she has made every cut and racked up six top-10 finishes, four of which were actually top five results and one of which was a tie for second that came at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally at Erin Hills.

However, it’s Korda’s win tally that has been the hottest topic of conversation swirling around the two-time major champion this year, and in a season that has seen a record-setting 24 different athletes pick up victories in 23 events, Korda is looking bound and determined early to add her name to that already stout list this week in the Buckeye State.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster start to the first round for Korda, who went birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey in a four-hole stretch from Nos. 11 to 14 to sit at even par through five during her opening nine. She then landed two blows late, making birdies on the par-3 16th and par-5 18th holes to turn in 34 at 2-under.

Korda picked up another birdie on the par-4 2nd hole to climb to 3-under, ripping off three consecutive birdies on the fourth, fifth and sixth holes to move to 6-under for the day. A late bogey on seven dropped Korda back to 5-under, and after parring in, she ultimately finished with a 67, a day-one effort that has her trailing 18-hole leader Chanettee Wannasaen by four strokes at TPC River’s Bend.

“I made a couple of putts here and there,” Korda said. “Overall, everything was flowing, and the weather was great. There was really no wind. So, with the saturated conditions, a little softer, you could be a little bit more aggressive.

“My first birdie, I hit a really great shot in. (It was a) reachable par-5. I let my iron loose out to the right, and I didn't make a five-footer for par. And then the next hole, I made a longer putt, and then the next hole, I chunked a wedge into the bunker, and it plugged, so that was great. Just up and down a good bit and then got it back to under par.”

This is Korda’s second straight year playing in the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, having finished in a tie for fifth in her tournament debut in 2024. Last season saw the Olympic gold medalist capture a whopping seven victories throughout the year, five of which came consecutively in the spring and culminated with her second major title at The Chevron Championship.

While she has yet to pull into victory lane in 2025, Korda’s statistics actually indicate that, on paper, she is playing stronger golf this year than last, a good indicator that the other shoe should drop soon for the 27-year-old as the LPGA Tour’s 75th anniversary season begins to wind down.

And with 54 holes remaining at what was a gettable TPC River’s Bend on Thursday in Hamilton Township, Ohio, Korda will be working hard to keep the pedal down at the Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G, in dogged pursuit of a spot at the top of the leaderboard.

“I would say you have to be fairly aggressive on the par 5s. A lot of the par 5s are pretty gettable, so making sure you capitalize on them if you have the length. Just be aggressive,” Korda said of this week’s venue. “Last year was a little bit firmer and faster. I know they've had a bit of a weird summer with it raining at the start and then being really dry, so there are some patchy areas.

“So, it was definitely a little softer this year. Had a little bit longer clubs in to what we had last year, or speaking for me. But you have to be kind of aggressive with the clubs into the greens with it being soft because you know that the scores are going to be low, and the weather is really good typically this time of year here.”

Nelly Korda Notches 67 to Kick Off Second Berth in Kroger Queen City Championship

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