After Nelly Korda’s dominant start to the season with a win at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, expectations for her second start were sky-high. But despite being one of the top performers on the LPGA Tour, Korda fell just short, with it all pointing to a mistake on the 17th.

“That’s just golf. Those are sports. Sometimes it’s on your side, and sometimes it’s not,” the world No.2 said after the Fortinet Founders Cup.

“The front nine was great,” she continued. “Kind of battled a little bit more on the back nine. Wasn’t really kind of producing as much as I was on the front nine. Obviously, something like 17 stings, so it is what it is… I just kind of made one stupid mistake, and that was 17 (and then) 18.”

Both Hyo Joo Kim, the winner of the Founders Cup, and Nelly Korda bogeyed the second hole. But Korda quickly regained her pace and shot six birdies through eight holes, and that briefly pushed her to share the lead with Kim. However, a birdie on the 10th was the last one for the day for Korda. 

After hitting a bogey on the 12th, she made a costly mistake after hitting long on the par-3 17th. It was where Korda missed a par-saving putt even though she was pretty close to the hole. Additionally, it was a missed chance for Korda to punish Kim’s bogey on the 16th and 18th. 

“I wish I could have hit that drive into the fairway and given myself a better opportunity to press a little bit more,” she added.

However, the two-time major champion claimed to be oblivious of the leaderboard positions:

“I didn’t really see too many leaderboards. I didn’t really know where all the other girls were. I was really, honestly, just focused on myself. Wasn’t really focused on what Hyo Joo was doing.”

But was that the second mistake she made at Sharon Heights? While that’s up for debate, let’s look at one more factor that might have affected Korda’s gameplay.

Nelly Korda was excited despite her recent troubles

Korda skipped six weeks of active competition after winning the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. But at the pre-tournament presser at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, she revealed that she’s “still trying to tighten up loose ends.”

What does that mean? Well, she has been battling injuries like a blood clot (2022) and neck spasms (2025). These health issues have caused multiple withdrawals. And ahead of the Founders Cup, Nelly Korda complained that the bottoms of her feet and shins were sore as she had to adjust to walking long distances. 

“I’ve seen my body deteriorate over that. and I get into the zone of possibly getting injured,” Korda said. “Golf is already tough mentally, and then flying cross-country, traveling by yourself, sleeping in a different bed—I’m getting to the age where I’m feeling that now.”

Nevertheless, she seemed excited to be back on the course, competing against the best in the world. That aspect of the tournament seemed to refresh her mindset. And it reflected in her performance at Sharon Heights. She gave Kim pretty tough competition and scored a 15-under 273. 

For now, she’s focusing on the upcoming Ford Championship, scheduled for March 26-29, 2026.