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Watch Nelly Korda convert insane up-and-down to maintain charge up Evian leaderboard

By Veronica Elizabeth Bruno

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JULY 21: Nelly Korda of The United States tees off on the 13th hole on day one of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 21, 2022 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JULY 21: Nelly Korda of The United States tees off on the 13th hole on day one of The Amundi Evian Championship at Evian Resort Golf Club on July 21, 2022 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images) /
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Nelly Korda sits one off the lead with an incredible save like putting from the water’s edge to secure a bogey-free first day at the Evian major championship.

Most golfers would have elicited a sigh of frustration if their ball ended up right at the water’s edge, like Nelly Korda’s did on a par-five hole of the Amundi Evian Championship.

Throw in the fact it occurred on the final hole of the day, another golfer might have cursed up a storm (myself included). Instead, USA’s Korda took off her socks and shoes and calmly walked into the slimy pond up to her ankles and hit her second shot to get it back in contention.

"“I had a decent chance of getting it out on the green, so I just went for it,” Korda said after the day’s round, via the Golf Channel. “Better than taking a drop, that’s for sure.“I’ve never done anything like that and I must say, it was really gross,” Korda continued, according to the Associated Press."

Korda, appearing in her fifth tournament since blood clot surgery—when she had been ranked No. 1 in the world—is looking for her first post-surgery win. She has finished Top 10 three times since her June 16 return and sits at the world No. 3 spot. The golf gold medalist has been building back since then, improving with each tournament. A bogey-free seven under 64 was a resilient demonstration of her return to form.

https://twitter.com/LPGA/status/1550130735616368642

Out for four months due to her surgery and recovery, it’s great to have the seven-time LPGA winner back on tour and most especially, going strong.

“I wasn’t even sure when I [would] come back, obviously, after everything that happened,” Korda said at the start of the tournament, according to the Golf Channel. “I’m just happy I’m here.”

The 23-year-old Korda is tied for second with Canada’s Brooke Henderson on the Evian leaderboard, just one off the top position, held by Japan’s Ayaka Furue, who finished with an eight-under par, helped by her phenomenal nine birdies.

Just after them in fourth position sits American Cheyenne Knight at six under. Five women share the Top 5 position, including world No. 1 Jin Young Ko, Olympics silver-medalist Lydia Ko, Yuna Nishimura (amateur), Great Britain’s Charley Hull, and France’s Perrine Delacour.

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