ERIN, Wis. — Last summer, Nelly Korda’s U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club ended prematurely. She shot 80 in the opening round — featuring a devastating 10 on the scorecard — and couldn’t rally to make the cut. In the time since, she said the experience “put a dagger into [her] heart.”
This week at Erin Hills, there were no 10s on the scorecard, and no rounds in the 80s. By the end of it, though, the feelings were all too familiar.
“Just an absolute heartbreaker,” Korda said. “But that’s golf.”
The golf for Korda this week was actually quite good. She fired three rounds of par or better on a brutish USGA setup. She posted a five-under 67 in Round 2 that was tied for the second-lowest score of the week. And she led the field in Strokes Gained: Driving, a crucial component for success at a big ballpark like Erin Hills. The week had all the makings of something truly special. But with the sun dipping low over the Wisconsin farmland Sunday afternoon, there was a lone name above Korda’s name on the scoreboard: Stark.
Since debuting in the U.S. Women’s Open at the age of 14, there has been no title Korda craves more. The performance she put together this week was good enough to beat all but one competitor in the field. But in the game of golf, there are no trophies handed out for second best. In the years to come, the week at Erin Hills will only be remembered for Korda as another close call.
As she sat in front of the media discussing her latest near-miss, Maja Stark was a few hundred yards away on the 18th green. With a three-shot lead playing the 72nd hole, there would need to be a Jean van de Velde-esque collapse to put the outcome in doubt.
Korda wouldn’t be the beneficiary of any such luck. Although Stark would bogey her final two holes, her four-day total of 281 (seven under) was best in the field by two shots. Korda and Rio Takeda tied for second.
“When you come so close and you kind of feel that adrenaline coming down 18, the one thing that you want to do is hold the trophy at the end of the day,” Korda said. “And I’m not.”
As Stark readied to put the finishing touches on her major triumph, the runner-up walked over to the swarm of children next to the practice green begging for her signature. She signed hats and took selfies for 10 minutes and then walked to gather her things from the locker room. A few moments later, she emerged and headed for the parking lot. She was $1 million richer, but the extra zeroes in her bank account meant little without the ultimate prize.
“Golfers, a lot of us, are perfectionists,” Korda said. “So when I come out here and a golf course dominates you the way it does, it’s never a nice feeling.”
There may have been a bit of hyperbole in her characterization of “domination,” but a week of U.S. Open conditions will leave you a bit dazed no matter where you finish on the leaderboard. If there was one area of the course that did get the best of Korda, it was the putting surfaces.
While she was the best player in the field tee to green, she was equally befuddled by the greens. Out of the 60 players who made the cut, Korda ranked 52nd in SG: Putting. In all but her second round — when she posted her tournament-low 67 — she lost strokes on the greens. By comparison, Stark, the eventual champion, tied for fourth in putting for the week. If you’re looking for a difference maker, there you have it.
“I just need to continue knocking on the door,” Korda said. “Hopefully it will open.”
If it ever is to open, Korda will have to be dialed in every facet of her game. She brought it in all but one area this week, but ultimately it cost her dearly.
“I’ll pray that some putts go in,” she said.
If they had, Korda’s week would have ended soaked in champagne instead of on the cusp of history.
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