World No. 1 Nelly Korda got off to a sluggish start on Day 1 at the Amundi Evian Championship. Her round took a particularly unusual turn on her final hole, however, when faced with a difficult bunker shot.
Korda’s ball nestled up closely to the back bank of a greenside bunker on the par-5 ninth, and she clipped the bank on her downswing, causing her to miss the ball entirely. She then chose to hit out sideways, and her low-running fourth shot trickled just onto the fringe past the hole. She’d go on to make bogey and finish with an opening 3-over 74, nine shots back of leaders Yealimi Noh and Pajaree Anannarukarn.
Yikes! Nelly Korda just missed the ball entirely out of a bunker on her last hole, hitting the bank first on a difficult shot. pic.twitter.com/C50Uy3am8Q
— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) July 22, 2021
Korda recorded five bogeys in her round, carding a 37 on each side. She hit nine fairways, 12 greens and took 32 putts. The KPMG Women’s PGA champion’s best finish at the Evian came in 2019 when she tied for 25th. This marks her fourth appearance in the event.
When asked about the toughest part of Evian Resort Golf Club on Wednesday, Korda talked about the unpredictability of the place and the importance of maintaining a level head.
“You know, you can hit good shots and you get a really bad bounce and you’re just in an impossible position,” she said. “You can hit a bad shot and it trickles up there and you sink it for birdie. So it’s more of just like a mental aspect and also just knowing where to miss.