After a fierce 4-under 68 in the third round, capped off by an eagle at the par-5 18th, Nelly Korda has vaulted herself into striking distance at the 2025 Kroger Queen City Championship in Maineville, Ohio. Now sitting tied 5th at 13-under-par, just three strokes off the leader, Charley Hull, Korda knows exactly what’s on the line and how she plans to go after it.

When asked in a press conference on Saturday on how excited she gets knowing she’s just a few shots back on a course as scorable as TPC River’s Bend, Korda didn’t hide her enthusiasm. “Yeah, that’s what I love about golf, is kind of the grind. Doesn’t matter where you are. Sometimes people come from the back. You just have to kind of get it going. There is nothing better than being in the hunt contention and feeling that adrenaline, hoping that you are in contention going last few holes in,” Korda confessed. She added that she is “going to try and work as hard” as she possibly can to get into a position with Hull and Athaya Thitikul battling it out shot-for-shot down the final stretch. 

And her strategy to tackle them? It’s all about smart aggression and self-discipline — knowing when to push, and when to play it safe. “You just have to focus on yourself, be aggressive when you can, and kind of steer to safety when you have to; not get stupid and make silly mistakes,” Korda admitted. “I mean, it’s easier said than done. We all make them, and we’re all going to make them. You try to steer away from them as much as possible,” she added. It’s a mindset from a player who understands the margins are razor-thin at this level, especially when going toe-to-toe with players like Hull and Thitikul. 

Charley Hull, in particular, is entering into the final round on Sunday riding a wave of strong form, arguably some of the best of her career. She finished runner-up at the 2025 AIG Women’s Open, and followed it up with another second-place finish just last week at the Aramco Houston Championship on the LET. And that was no small feat, as it was her first tournament back after suffering ankle ligament damage in August, which set her back for nearly four weeks from play. Now, through three rounds at TPC River’s Bend, she’s showing the same form, six birdies, one bogey, and a composed 67 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Thitikul into Sunday.

Athaya Thitikul, on the other hand, brings a different kind of challenge for Korda. Her relentless consistency this season has earned her 10 top-10 finishes and one win (2025 Mizuho Americas Open), and even helped her steal the World No.1 title from Korda. Even though she sits just one shot behind Hull at 15-under, Thitikul has shown time and again that she’s comfortable in the pressure of final rounds, something evident even just two weeks ago when she narrowly missed out on another victory at the 2025 FM Championship, finishing solo second.

But for Korda to tackle the top of the leaderboard, she will need to fix the one issue that has plagued her for most of this season.

Nelly Korda’s final round woes

One issue that Nelly Korda must be wary of heading into Sunday’s final round at TPC River’s Bend is her struggle to maintain her sharpest form when it matters most — on the final day. Recently on the No Laying Up Podcast, Randy highlighted the stark contrast between Korda’s dominant 2024 season and her rollercoaster 2025 campaign so far. “Last year, she made 10 cuts, had eight top-10s and seven top-fives,” Randy noted, underscoring how formidable Korda was at closing out tournaments.

This year, Korda’s performance has dipped, especially in the final rounds. Her scoring average rose from 69.58 to 71.27, costing her key positions. She’s had only three final rounds in the 60s, compared to eight last year, with most hovering in the 70s.

At this very event last year, she fired a strong 4-under 68 in the final round to finish tied 5th at 14-under, showing her capability to close with authority. But in 2025, the pressure of Sunday golf seems to have taken a toll on her performance, with solid early rounds too often undone by lackluster finishes. Randy’s blunt assessment sums it up — “She just hasn’t been able to quite play as well on Sundays as she did last year and obviously has not had the win.”  For a player like Korda, who thrives on adrenaline and chasing down leaders, overcoming this Sunday slump will be crucial if she wants to turn her 2025 campaign around.