Nelly Korda, the defending champion and World No. 1, staged a gritty comeback in the second round of the Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods, Texas, to make the cut in the season's first major.
Korda’s opening round on Thursday got off to a rocky start. She made four consecutive bogeys from holes 3-6. A big reason for her struggles was a cold putter. Korda needed 33 putts to complete the round, which caused her to switch putters between rounds. Korda made just one birdie to go along with six bogeys to shoot a 77 and five-over for the round. The 77 was her worst score of 2025 and put her 12 shots behind first-round leaders Haeran Ryu and Yan Liu, who both carded bogey-free 65s.
Friday’s second round offered a chance to recover, with the projected cut line at 1 over. Korda did just that.
After stumbling out of the gates once again with bogeys on holes 11 and 12 (she started on the back nine), Korda birdied both 17 and 18 to make the turn at even par on the round. She then birdied four holes (1,4,6 and 8) to get to 1 over for the event, inside the cutline.
The round ended on the ninth hole where the defending champion had to get up and down from off the green and left herself with a tester for par. Korda jarred the putt to finish her round with a four-under 68, and in a massive display of resolve, made it to the weekend.
And a crisp par to finish the day 🧊@NellyKorda gets it done at @Chevron_Golf pic.twitter.com/nDAen9a4Wb
— LPGA (@LPGA) April 26, 2025
The made cut extends Korda’s streak to eight consecutive made cuts at the Chevron Championship.
Korda currently sits eight shots behind the leader, Yan Liu (-7), but demonstrated Friday that she can make up ground in a hurry.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Nelly Korda Rallies on Friday to Make the Cut at the Chevron Championship.
