LYTHAM ST ANNES, England — Nelly Korda played her way into the conversation during round two of the AIG Women’s Open, carding a 3-under 68 to move into a share of 14th at Royal Lytham and St Annes Golf Club.

All eyes have been on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings No. 1 in every tournament in which she has teed it up this season, as Korda has racked up four 2026 titles, two of which were The Chevron Championship and the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally, and now finds herself just two points away from automatically qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame, what’s widely thought of as the most exclusive hall of fame in all of sports.

It’s been the same story throughout this week in Lancashire, England. But when Korda quietly opened with a 2-over 73 at this pot-bunker-laced layout on Thursday, some questioned whether Nelly might find herself fighting to make the cut in the second round of the AIG Women’s Open, much like she had to earlier this month at The Amundi Evian Championship in Evian-les-Bains, France.

However, Korda kept her head in check and has now made her presence in the top 20 on the leaderboard known with 36 holes remaining in the final major of the 2026 LPGA Tour season, as she currently sits six shots behind her fellow major champion Haeran Ryu at 1-under overall.

It was a slow start to round two for Korda, who parred the first two holes at Royal Lytham and St Annes before dropping a shot on the par-4 third hole. The 28-year-old recovered immediately from that bogey with a birdie on four to get back to level par for the round, and then got to 2-under on the day when she birdied the back-to-back par-5 sixth and par-5 seventh holes. A birdie on the par-3 ninth hole saw Korda ultimately turn in 32 at 1-under for the tournament.

She went on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride on the first four holes of her back nine, going bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie to break even on Nos. 10-13. The Olympic gold medalist then parred her closing five holes to post a 68, what’s her lowest score in a major tournament since day two of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in June.

“(My ball-striking) was definitely better than yesterday,” said Korda, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens on day two. “At the start of the round, I just found myself in difficult positions yesterday. Other than that flare out to the right on three today, I hit it really solid, and that's what you need around here. You have to stay out of these pot bunkers, and you really have to judge the bounces, too.”

While her ball striking has been solid, Nelly has also been rolling it pretty well so far this week at the AIG Women’s Open, a putting performance that’s helped her hang on to an under-par score after two days of play. Korda gave a lot of credit to some extra green-reading help from her caddie Jason McDede that she has uncharacteristically requested as a big reason that she’s been able to keep the train on the tracks as it pertains to her flat stick.

“Lag putts are fine. Obviously, just want to be on the green and give yourself an opportunity,” said Korda. “I've had Jason come in and read greens, and I've actually lined it up because you have to play wind here, too, and I wasn't really seeing the breaks too well. So that's why I pulled Jay in. I don't normally do that. I like to do it myself, so I'm confident in my own decisions. These are the weeks that I usually always pull him in.”

Korda has plenty of work to do over the next two days in England in order to catch the Republic of Korea’s Ryu, who leads at 7-under and who, like Nelly, has won two majors in 2026, doing so at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and The Amundi Evian Championship.

But we’ve seen the American superstar handily recover from these types of deficits in the past. And if she once again manages to conjure up some magic over the weekend and give herself a shot at a 20th career LPGA Tour victory, there are many accolades waiting to be added to Korda’s already extensive professional golf resume.

Most significantly, Nelly would gain entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame, while also finishing the Career Grand Slam in her second attempt, the latter of which is what the LPGA considers to be when an athlete wins four different major tournaments that are deemed as such over the course of their career. Korda would collect her second Rolex ANNIKA Major Award, having won her first in 2024, and she would add another 30 points to her Rolex Player of the Year tally, further extending her advantage in that season-long award race.

Additionally, Nelly would be the first athlete since Inbee Park to win three majors in a single season and would be the fifth to do so in Tour history, joining a list of athletes that only otherwise includes Babe Zaharias (1950), Mickey Wright (1961) and Pat Bradley (1986) as well as Park. She would also surpass Annika Sorenstam on the official career money list, ousting the Swede from a spot in which she has sat for 25 years.

But with half the tournament still to play and a jam-packed leaderboard of excellent competitors, Nelly is putting a premium on keeping a level head over the next couple of days, knowing from plenty of personal experience that anything can happen late in a major championship, particularly at the AIG Women’s Open.

“Thirty-six in, 36 holes to go. You never know what's going to happen. It's golf. It's links golf,” said Korda. “Just going to try to have the same attitude I had today going into the weekend.”

Rolex Rankings No. 1 Nelly Korda Now Sitting at T14 After Friday 68 at AIG Women’s Open

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