Sometimes, the chronicles have to be started from the bottom. This is one of them. Second day of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at the Sahalee Country Club in Washington, very close to Seattle. Leading are Sarah Schmelzel (-6), who is getting used to seeing herself at the top in the Majors, and Amy Yang (-6), however the main protagonist is not them, but another player who has not made the cut. And what a player. It is Nelly Korda (+6).
The world’s Number One has derailed again in a Major. The US Open was considered an accident. Rightly so. It is true that she signed 80 strokes on the first day, but on her card there was a costly ’10’ on a par 3 that marked the whole day. Today’s is a bit more worrying. First because it is the second time in a very short time and second because it has been a slow death. She has been bleeding little by little without the ability to react.
She started with four bogeys in the first four holes, setting the tone for a day to forget. She made one more on the 6th, three more on the 9th, 11th and 14th and finished with a double bogey on the 15th after losing the tee shot. At that moment she was absolutely devastated. A poem. Very cruel. She finished with a final birdie, the only one of the day, which is of little consolation. She made 81 strokes, her highest round on the LPGA Tour and the highest round in history in a Major by a world Number One. It is the third consecutive cut she misses. It is not so much being left out as the way. Nelly has shown herself today overwhelmed by circumstances, unable to find the reset button and stop the bleeding. It is, without a doubt, the news of the tournament.
It has been another very tough day at Sahalee. The course is long and hard. The rough punishes a lot and the greens are tense, although they remain receptive. The players under par do not reach twenty and the figure will be reduced in the next two days. Schmelzel and Yang have a two-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson (-4), Jin Young Ko (-4) and Hinako Shibuno (-4). The Solheim Europe command has taken positions and sneaks into the weekend with a lot to say still: Leona Maguire (-3), Madelene Sagstrom (-2), Charley Hull (-1), Celine Boutier (-1) or Maja Stark (-1). We could also add here Morgane Metraux (-2), a Swiss golfer who is pointing strongly to be in a Solheim team sooner rather than later.
As for the Spanish, heads and tails. The head is for Azahara Muñoz (+3). The Malaga player has made the cut and looks up in the standings, despite having finished with two bogeys. She is playing well, solid from tee to green, hitting good irons and making some very important putts, like a twelve-meter one on the 2nd for birdie and two others of about five meters to save pars. One of the keys to her round was on the 15th hole. She came from making a costly double bogey and reacted with a spectacular shot that was about to hole from the fairway. Given birdie. She made 74 strokes.
The tail is for Carlota Ciganda (+9). The Navarrese has been left out of the cut and at no time has she had it in sight. Her birdie production has abandoned her and she has suffered a lot from tee to green, especially in the shots to green in the first nine holes. Then she has toned up a bit more, but it was already late and she lacked putting some putt that gave her some hope. The first one arrived on the 17th, too late. She made 75 strokes.
As for the important names that have missed the cut, they stand out, beyond Korda, Anna Nordqvist, Emily Pedersen, Nasa Hataoka, Sei Young Kim, Andrea Lee, Sophia Popov, Albane Valenzuela, Danielle Kang, Gemma Dryburgh or the aforementioned Carlota.
