Nelly Korda makes septuple-bogey 10 in nightmare start to US Women’s Open bid

Nelly Korda nailed a 10 on her third hole of the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday when she hit three short-game shots into the stream in front of the par-3 12th green.

It was a devastating start for the No. 1 player in women’s golf at Lancaster Country Club, a course that already played so hard that birdies were hard to come by.

Korda walked off the green, took off her visor and put her hand on her forehead for a few seconds before walking to the next tee. A video crew kept the camera on the walking scorer as “+1” was changed to a “+8” next to her name.

Hole 12 – Korda started her round at number 10 – showed the marks of a problem. It measures 161 yards downhill to a green that slopes from back to front and has a stream in front. The pin was located at the front, where the green slopes more strongly toward the water.

When Korda’s group reached the hole, there were two other groups on the tee waiting to play.

Her tee shot bounced over the green into a bunker. Korda splashed him out of the sand with too much speed, after which he rolled past the pin and continued down the slope into the water. She took a penalty drop on the other side of the stream and hit a low throw that hit the bank and rolled back into the water.

She took another penalty. Her next throw flew to the front of the green and rolled back into the water. Korda crouched down, stunned by a U.S. Women’s Open that eluded her just as she started.

Korda dropped a third time, hitting a pitch that flew to the hole and rolled past about eight feet. She missed the putt and took a seven-fold bogey 10.

Korda started her round with a bogey when she didn’t have enough club at 150 meters. Her ball landed just short of the green and rolled about 110 feet down a steep hill.

She was the overwhelming favorite at the biggest event on the LPGA schedule, winning six of her last seven tournaments. That included the first major of the year in the Chevron Championship, where she tied an LPGA record with her fifth straight victory.

Korda has just two top 10s at the US Women’s Open, known as golf’s toughest test because of its difficult format.