Oh, Nelly! Korda makes a 10 on one hole and posts an 80 in U.S. Women's Open

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Nelly Korda was not even three holes into the U.S. Women’s Open when she dropped to a crouch and bowed her head in disbelief after her third straight shot — all of them from inside 70 feet away — tumbled into a stream.

She walked off the par-3 12th hole at Lancaster Country Club with a 10.

It didn’t get much better from there.

“Making a 10 on a par 3 will definitely not do you any good at a U.S. Open,” Korda said when her nightmare start to the biggest championship in women’s golf ended with an 80, leaving her 12 shots out of the lead.

“Just a bad day in the office.”

Korda came into the U.S. Women’s Open as an overwhelming favorite, with six victories in her last seven tournaments, including a major that tied an LPGA record for five wins in a row.

That’s what made the most imperfect 10 so shocking.

It didn’t help that two groups were on the tee at the 161-yard 12th hole — Korda had about a 25-minute wait — and she watched trouble unfold before she pulled a club. In the group ahead, Gaby Lopez came up short of the water. Ingrid Lindblad’s tee shot rolled into the water.