CHASKA, Minn. — Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda isn’t too far off the pace of 36-hole leader Ina Yoon at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

The 19-time LPGA Tour winner followed her first-round 2-under 70 with a 4-under 68 on Friday, making one bogey and five birdies during round two in Chaska, Minn. Korda got off to quite a fiery start, making a pair of back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th hole after knocking an 154-yard approach shot to seven feet on the former and making a nine-foot birdie putt on the latter.

Sitting at 4-under overall, Korda then climbed to 5-under with a birdie on the par-5 15th hole, moving to 6-under when she hit her second shot to seven feet from 136 yards on 18 and picking up another birdie. The Olympic gold medalist’s lone bogey of the second round came on No. 1, but she cleaned up that mistake with a birdie on the par-5 third hole, parring her final six holes to post a 68 and sit six shots behind Yoon with two days remaining.

“The front nine was amazing. I shot 4-under and then had a case of the hooks on a few of my tee shots on the back nine. Figured it out going down the stretch, so pleased with my day,” said Korda, who hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens. “I only put myself into a really difficult position on 10, where I had to chip out, and 11, thankfully, I had an opening on the green, and it was just a wedge shot in. So, I chose my hooks well.”

Korda is a past winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, hoisting this trophy back in 2021 when the event was contested at Atlanta Athletic Club, what was then her first major championship victory. Since that week in Georgia, Korda’s star has risen to drastic heights in women’s golf, and she is now on the precipice of gaining entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame, arguably the most prestigious hall of fame in all of sports, with its 27-point membership requirement.

Nelly has amassed 15 Hall of Fame points since the start of the 2024 season and entered this week with 25 total, two points shy of the 27-point threshold required for entry. A win at Hazeltine would secure the 27-year-old those final two points and see her become the second athlete in the last three seasons to play their way into the Hall alongside New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.

But Korda would be the first American to do so in 27 years, as Juli Inkster most recently qualified for automatic entry in 1999 and was also the first athlete to earn a Hall of Fame spot based on the points system that was adopted by the organization in the late 90s.

That accolade will remain a long way off, however, if Korda can’t chip away at Yoon’s lead on Saturday and Sunday in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. But chasing after the first two rounds has often favored Korda, who has won 14 of her 19 career titles when trailing through 36 holes, most recently doing so at the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera Country Club, so it’s going to be a tough position in which to see the formidable superstar lurking for those just ahead of Korda on the leaderboard.

Nelly knows from experience, though, that the final 36 holes of any major championship bring with them plenty of drama and carnage, particularly at a course like Hazeltine National, which gives athletes a lot of risk-reward scenarios to weigh that are dependent on course conditions.

So, Korda is just planning to keep her head down and see what scoring opportunities this property provides over the next two days in Minnesota, working to capitalize when it’s most convenient in pursuit of her fifth career major victory.

“It's definitely a golf course where you have to pick and choose,” said Korda. “So, depending on the pin location, the softness, winds, we make our game plan the day of. (Jason McDede, her caddie) and I are really good at that. Prep is great Monday through Wednesday, but we've had a different wind every single day so far, so I played different clubs off the tee. So, every single day, you're adapting to your situation.”

Nelly Korda Not Too Far Off Pace at KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

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