Nelly Korda has won four major championships. In every one, she carried at least a share of the lead into the final round. On Sunday, June 27, she will have to win from behind to get her fifth major.
Korda shot 71 on Saturday at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship to reach 7 under, tied for sixth and four shots behind leader Haeran Ryu, who shot 68 at Hazeltine.
The 27-year old Korda has a familiar arc for her major wins. She was tied for the lead through 54 holes at the 2021 Women's PGA, ahead at both Chevron **** les and level again at this year's U.S. Women's Open before pulling away at Riviera. Never has she started a major's final round with this much to make up and still won.
She is playing for history. A win on Sunday would make her one of three women ever to capture the first three majors of a season, after Inbee Park in 2013 and Babe Zaharias in 1950. It would also push her to the 27 points required for the LPGA Hall of Fame and make her the first American to play her way in since Juli Inkster in 1999.
Korda's Saturday ran on power more than precision. She crushed a 357-yard drive on the 18th, the longest tee shot anyone hit on the hole all week, then watched a 25-foot birdie put slide past the hole. She tapped in for par.