Golf writer Beth Ann Nichols has named who she believes to be Nelly Korda’s biggest rival to win the US Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club this week.
Nelly Korda is without question the favourite to win her first US Women’s Open and her third major title overall this week, with the 25-year-old already winning six times this season.
In fact, Korda has won half of the events so far in 2024. One of the only other players to notch up a victory this season is Rose Zhang, with her remarkable win coming at the Founders Cup.
On that occasion, Zhang battled it out with Madelene Sagstrom on the final day, with the pair finishing 15 and 13 shots clear of third place respectively in New Jersey.
Rose Zhang backed to rival Nelly Korda at US Women’s Open
Zhang goes into this week looking for her first top five finish in a major championship. But speaking to Golf Channel, Nichols believes that the 21-year-old is best placed to prevent Korda from winning in Pennsylvania.
“Her greatest asset is from the neck up: her head, which is what you need, to be tough at a USGA Championship, you need to be patient, you need to have mental fortitude, and she has that in spades for a player who just turned 21 last week,” she said.
“It was a shame that she had to withdraw because of an illness from the Mizuho after winning the Founders Cup. It would have been great to see Nelly and Rose go head to head there, but hopefully we’ll see that this week. But I think it’s easy to look at Nelly number one and Rose number two right now in players you think might win this week.”
Driving distance will be a concern for 21-year-old this week
Zhang potentially has a bit of a point to prove after missing the cut at the Chevron Championship earlier this year, but she did finish in the top 10 for three of the majors last year.
The problem is that Korda just seems to be on such a different level to anyone else right now. She is striking the ball remarkably well this season, and proving to be absolutely ruthless from mid-range on the greens.
Where Zhang may struggle is that she is not the longest hitter, with the youngster down in 83rd for driving distance on the LPGA this season. Lancaster is certainly not a short course, with eight par fours over 400 yards.
But, as Nichols notes, Zhang has the mental game to battle with the best, so perhaps she is in a good place to secure her second win of the season.
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