Nelly Korda left surprised by decision the R&A made on day one at The Women’s Open

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Nelly Korda opened her Women’s Open Championship account with a round of two-under par 70 on Thursday.

Royal Porthcawl Golf Club proved to be a stern test for the best players in the world, but Korda had no trouble shooting two-under par.

The 26-year-old sits three shots adrift of the Women’s Open leaders Eri Okayama and Rio Takeda, with three rounds remaining.

Korda’s season leading up to the Women’s Open has been weird, with her first win of the season still proving to be elusive.

However, the truly bizarre thing is that Korda’s stats have actually improved from last season when she won seven times!

Golf is a funny old game – one that nobody will ever master.

Nelly Korda surprised by R&A’s decision at The Women’s Open

Korda is in a strong position to push on and contend at Royal Porthcawl over the weekend now.

What a tournament it would be for her to pick up her first win of the season.

Korda has won two majors throughout her career so far, and that simply isn’t enough given her incredible talent.

The 26-year-old is more than capable of winning this week, with the golf course seemingly a great fit for her game.

She spoke to reporters after day one at the Women’s Open, and shared something that surprised her about the setup at Royal Porthcawl.

She said: “Yeah, hopefully getting a little bit more confidence under your belt, especially in the conditions and on this golf course. That’s all you can hope for. Every day is so different.

“I was expecting the tees to be where they were the first three days when we were practicing. Obviously we always tee off from the back, and a lot of them were so far up the tee boxes today. The majority of the holes were up.

“It just depends how they also play — the R&A, how they set it up and how they play it. Yeah, every day is a challenge and you kind of just have to be very patient out here.“

What about Korda’s strategy?

She said: “Yeah, I was hitting more irons off the tee today than drivers, and — or woods. So, I mean, the golf course is also firming up a lot, so on 17 I was hitting hybrid in the practice rounds and I hit a 6-iron that I had to hold off because it was going to run through.

“So you just kind of have to adjust. Sometimes you have to get lucky when you make the wrong decision. You kind of have to bail yourself out.“

Nelly Korda’s stats from day one at the Women’s Open

Korda wasn’t at her brilliant best on Thursday.

However, she compiled a very solid round of golf in the end.

Here are her stats from day one in Wales:

To shoot in the mid-60s on day two at The Women’s Open, Korda will have to hit more fairways, which will mean she’ll be able to give herself better looks on the greens.

She’s more than capable of doing that, and it would surprise nobody if she was somewhere around the lead heading into the weekend.