Nelly Korda could not build on a brilliant second round at The Annika and she now faces an uphill battle to even get back in contention.
Korda still managed to go round under par at Belleair but ultimately, found herself further behind the leaders than she started.
The former world number one’s 63 in round two had given her tremendous hope heading into round three but Korda could only muster a 68, while all but two of those now above her posted better scores.
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It means Korda is now six shots back of the leader, Linn Grant, and she needs something special in round four.
Nevertheless, Korda remains in an optimistic mood.
Nelly Korda says if she can still win The ANNIKA
Speaking after her third round, Nelly Korda was in a good but dejected mood at the same time as it appeared obvious she felt her hopes of a win had gone.
However, she still spoke openly and admitted that, like most sports, anything can happen if things go her way on the final day.
“Yeah, just kind of didn’t really get it close, but overall I mean, it was an okay day,” Korda admitted.
“Yeah, every day is a different day. Kind of today was kind of like the first day where nothing was really kind of going but then found a few maybe on the last few holes and then ended the round poorly.
“You just never know. It’s golf.”
Speaking on the crowds, Korda paid homage to the fans out in Florida.
“Yeah, this is the best part. I’m getting ready for them.”
What Nelly Korda said about taking a break from golf
With The ANNIKA now looking out of sight for Korda, it will be interesting to see how she tackles the final day.
Of course, if she starts well and Grant and others can’t get going, then suddenly the gap shrinks and she will very much fancy her chances of another win.
However, Korda will also have one eye on taking a bit of a break from golf as well.
Speaking at the beginning of October, Korda admitted she had some injury issues she needed to resolve.
“Yeah, it’s tough. I would say by this time of the year my body is definitely worn down. I do have some injuries I’ve had in the past that kind of linger that are never really fully resolved, that you still do PT on every single day, you do therapy,” Korda conceded.
“So making sure you’re 100% with your body or as 100% as you can be is always the end goal going into kind of the first day of the event.“
With more events to come – including the heavily-pursed TOUR Championship next week – we could well see Korda wind down from there and take that much needed break.
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