Korda was able to complete the second 59 of women’s professional golfers with a birdie at the last. Korda missed the tee from a separate tree and made a double-bogey.
The World No. The World No. 1 had to accept, as consolation, matching the Olympic scoring mark with nine-under-par62. This put her four shots ahead three of the 13-under players.
After shooting pars on her four first holes, Korda got on top of things and shot six under on the final five holes. This included an eagle 2 at hole 6, when she drove the green at 248 yards. After pars at 10, 11 and 12, Korda made the turn in 30. She then birdied the 12th hole, 13th, 14th, and 16th. After the official 59 watch, the 23-year old striped her approach to six feet in order to birdie at 17th. The history was made.
After a long wait, Korda decided to play driver. She would later call it stupid. Korda hooked the ball into the rough, leaving behind only one pine tree that could stop her shot at the green. She was faced with a choice: try to make history, or preserve as much of her six-shot lead as possible.
Korda stated, “It was a risky shot honestly.” “I had the water. It was difficult to hit the ball low due to the tree branch right in front of my face. I took the safer route and thought that if I could get it within a reasonable distance, I could save par. I returned home with twice the amount.
Korda landed in the fairway but her next shot was into the front bunker. She couldn’t get out of there and made a 6.
It’s golf. It’s going to happen,” Korda said. “That’s where you learn most.”
Despite this stumble, Korda holds a four shot lead over Kristine Pedersen and Nanna Koerstz Madsen of Denmark, as well as Aditi Ashok from India.
It was not clear if Korda would defend her lead for another 18 holes or 36. Due to the approaching tropical storm, the international golf committee debated whether to allow Korda to play the fourth round on Saturday.
