Nelly Korda made seven birdies and two bogeys Thursday at TPC Boston to shoot 67 and sit two off the early lead in the FM Championship.
Korda is in search of her first win of the season. She slipped to No. 2 in the Rolex Rankings following the season final major, the AIG Women’s Open, four weeks ago.
Playing among the morning wave, Korda started on the back nine and had five birdies in an eight-hole stretch around the turn. After dropping her second shot of the day at the par-4 fourth, her 13th, she birdied Nos. 7 and 8 to reach 5 under par. That left her tied for second with Sei Young Kim leading the way after a 65.
“Yeah, it was overall a solid day. No complaints,” said Korda, who played alongside last week’s winner in Canada, Brooke Henderson (71).
Korda made her first start since losing her No. 1 ranking, at the CPKC Women’s Open. She switched from a mallet to a blade-style putter in Ontario and has a similar TaylorMade blade in her bag this week.
She’s used both versions this year, beginning with a mallet, then switching briefly to a blade until opening her Chevron Championship title defense in 77 and reverting.
Neither model has resulted in a victory this season, coming off a year in which she won seven times. After the AIG in Wales, she went back to the version that led to six of the victories.
“Just something new. I had so much success with that head and I hit a couple before Toronto. It was kind of — obviously golf courses right now in Florida aren’t the best. Like the golf courses that I’m at just opened after being closed for a month,” said Korda, a Bradenton, Florida, resident.
“So there was a lot of sand on them. Wasn’t really sure how I really liked the putter, but I just went with it. I knew I had so much success with that kind of putter and felt confident with it — obviously, it’s a different grip, too. It’s a SuperStroke. I just picked it out of the group of putters that I had and that I liked, and kind of went with it.
“Just needed to feel something different.”
Though she hasn’t yet won in 2025, Korda has been consistent. She’s made the cut in all 14 of her starts and has six top-10s, including a tie for 10th last week.
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