Nelly Korda gets honest about how ‘she just needed a putt to go’ to turn things around at the 2025 U.S. Open

Nelly Korda’s third round at the 2025 U.S. Open was a roller coaster. While she did have a disappointing start, according to her, it was a putt on the thirteenth hole that turned things around. After that, she got back on her feet in the back nine.

Nelly Korda began the third round with an even par, followed by a bogey on the second hole. After two more even pars, she once again carded a bogey on the fifth hole. This was followed by two more bogeys on the seventh and the ninth holes. The World No. 1 failed to hit a single birdie in the front nine.

Nelly Korda continued the momentum with four consecutive even pars from the tenth to the thirteenth holes. After that, she hit three birdies and ended her day at 4-under-par. When asked about her performance, she said,

“Yeah, I just needed, honestly, a putt to go in. I chipped one up close. It wasn't really the longest of putts, but at least some momentum, some positivity to turn it around, and then two-putted on the next hole with it being reachable which was actually not the easiest of putts. But yeah, I was happy to kind of rally back on the back nine after having such a poor start.”

After the thirteenth hole, Nelly Korda went on to card two consecutive birdies on the 14th and the 15th holes. She also went completely bogey-less on the back nine and closed the round with a birdie. She currently occupies the solo sixth spot on the leaderboard.

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How did Nelly Korda perform in the first two rounds of the U.S. Women’s Open?

Round 1

Hole 1: Par 5 – 5

Hole 2: Par 4 – 4

Hole 3: Par 4 – 5

Hole 4: Par 4 – 4

Hole 5: Par 4 – 4

Hole 6: Par 3 – 3

Hole 7: Par 5 – 5

Hole 8: Par 4 – 4

Hole 9: Par 3 – 3

Out: 37 (+1)

Hole 10: Par 4 – 4

Hole 11: Par 4 – 4

Hole 12: Par 4 – 4

Hole 13: Par 3 – 3

Hole 14: Par 5 – 5

Hole 15: Par 4 – 4

Hole 16: Par 3 – 3

Hole 17: Par 4 – 4

Hole 18: Par 5 – 4

In: 35 (-1)

Total: 72 (Even Par)

Round 2

Hole 10: Par 4 – 4

Hole 11: Par 4 – 4

Hole 12: Par 4 – 3

Hole 13: Par 3 – 3

Hole 14: Par 5 – 4

Hole 15: Par 4 – 5

Hole 16: Par 3 – 3

Hole 17: Par 4 – 3

Hole 18: Par 5 – 5

In: 34 (-2)

Hole 1: Par 5 – 4

Hole 2: Par 4 – 5

Hole 3: Par 4 – 4

Hole 4: Par 4 – 3

Hole 5: Par 4 – 3

Hole 6: Par 3 – 3

Hole 7: Par 5 – 4

Hole 8: Par 4 – 4

Hole 9: Par 3 – 3

Out: 33 (-3)

Total: 67 (-5)