[ad_1]
World number one Nelly Korda will be looking to rediscover her stunning early-season form when the Women’s British Open returns to the famous Old Course at St Andrews this week.
Between January and May of this year, Korda competed in seven events on the LPGA Tour, winning six of them, including his second major title at the Chevron Championship.
But since then, the American’s best finish has been a tie for 22nd at the Olympics.
Korda missed the cut at the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship and tied for 26th at the Evian Championship, the season’s other three majors.
“I think what’s happened to me lately is that I made one mistake and then another mistake,” Korda said after a poor performance in the Paris Olympics final cost her the chance to defend the gold medal she won in Tokyo.
“I need to get some control and not compile all the mistakes, and that’s what I’ve been doing lately.”
World number two Lilia Vu is the defending champion but has never played at St Andrews before and is relishing the opportunity to compete in the birthplace of golf.
“I took pictures on the Svirken Bridge yesterday and again today. It feels surreal and I’m trying to capture it all,” said the American.
“I don’t put too much pressure on myself to defend a title. If I defend something, it feels like you lose something.”
Vu will compete in the first two rounds along with Korda and last year’s runner-up Charley Hull.
Hull is the favourite to win on home soil but she will have to work hard to recover from a shoulder injury that sidelined her at the Evian Championship last month and hope the temperatures don’t drop too much on Scotland’s east coast.
“When it’s cold, my shoulder hurts a little bit. I also have degenerative arthritis in my shoulder, so I try to keep it warm. Other than that, I’m healthy and ready to go,” Hull said Tuesday.
The world number 10 is still waiting to win her first Grand Slam and said winning it at St Andrews would be even more special.
“Obviously, this is the birthplace of golf – it would be a very special win, something you always dream about,” added Hall.
“When you walk along Routes 17 and 18, you get goose bumps, it’s so cool.”
Fresh off her gold medal in Paris, New Zealander Lydia Ko is now aiming to end her eight-year wait and set a new record by winning two more Grand Slam tournaments.
There’s more to competing in Scotland than just glory and up to $9 million in prize money.
This is also the last qualifying match between Europe and the United States before next month’s Solheim Cup.
Last year in Spain, the European team tied Virginia in a dramatic 14-14 tie, and now they will aim to defend the trophy in Virginia for an unprecedented fourth time.
[ad_2]
Source link
