World No. 1 Nelly Korda put three balls in the water on her third hole of the U.S. Women’s Open on Thursday, carding a disastrous 10 at the par-3 12th hole in Lancaster, Pa.
Korda, a two-time major champion, arrived as a heavy favorite at the Lancaster Country Club after winning six of her past seven events. She started on the back nine and bogeyed the par-4 10th hole before a par at No. 11.
Korda’s tee shot at the 161-yard 12th hole bounced over the green into a bunker. Her shot out of the sand rolled past the pin and into the water. After a penalty drop, her low pitch hit the bank and rolled back into the stream.
Following a second penalty drop, her pitch hit the front of the green and once again rolled back into the water. Korda’s pitch after a third penalty drop stopped about 8 feet past the hole and she two-putted to complete the shocking septuple-bogey 10.
Korda added bogeys at Nos. 15 and 17 to make the turn at 10-over 45.
Earlier this week, she commented on the difficulty of the course.
“This golf course is a beast. Off the tee, if you don’t hit it into the fairways, it sinks down into the rough,” Korda, 25, said. “These greens are small and very, very undulated.
“It’s a beast of a golf course.”
–Field Level Media