Nelly Korda’s Friday Charge at Olympics Thwarted By a Quadruple Bogey

The world No. 1 will go into the third round tied for 12th and still in the hunt, but was much closer to the lead until the 16th hole in Round 2.

Nelly Korda had a low round going Friday at the Olympics until a quadruple bogey 7 at the par-3 16th hole. / Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/IGF

Through 15 holes Friday at Le Golf National, Nelly Korda was making a charge worthy of a defending Olympic gold medalist.

The American had made six birdies and no bogeys to that point and was stalking the lead, then chose 9-iron at the 150-yard par-3 16th hole.

What followed was a stunner for the world’s No. 1-ranked player.

Korda hit what she called a “chippy 9” that “came out a little heely,” bouncing short of the green and into the water. A wedge from the drop zone then landed in a front bunker, and her blast went way long to the back of the green. Three putts later, she had a quadruple bogey 7.

Nelly Korda cards a 7 on the par 3 16th.

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Korda was tied for second and two shots back going into the hole, she left in 12th and six back. She went on to bogey the par-4 17th and birdie the par-5 18th to shoot a 2-under 70, ending at 2 under and six behind Switzerland’s Morgane Metraux with two rounds to go.

But it’s hard not think about where she should be on the leaderboard—though Korda tried to stay optimistic.

“Overall, I still shot under par. I'm going to try and take the positive,” Korda said. “If I would have done this on the last day or let's say the third day, then I would be extremely heartbroken.

“But I still have 36 more holes and anything can happen. I'm trying to see the positive in this. You know, Scottie (Scheffler) came back, shot 9 under and he won.”

Korda also had a par-3 meltdown in May at the U.S. Women’s Open, where she was a heavy favorite coming in with six wins in seven starts including an LPGA record-tying five in a row. On her third hole of the first round, she put three balls into a pond and made a 10, eventually missing the cut. 

Korda is tied with Rose Zhang at 2 under, with Lilia Vu at 1 under to round out the American contingent. France's Celine Boutier, the first-round leader, shot 76 to fall back into a tie for sixth at 3 under. Metraux, the leader, shot 66 including an Olympic-record 28 on the front nine with four birdies and two eagles.