LANCASTER, Pa. — Shortly after sinking her final putt of the day, Nelly Korda stood on the sting of the ninth green at Lancaster Country Club, opened her purple scorecard cover, looked down and sighed so deeply that the expansion of her chest may very well be seen from several feet away.

Her shoulders rose. Then they dropped again. A giant, fat 80 from the primary round of the US Women's Open stared back at her, and the sight of her seven-bogey 10 earlier within the round probably sent one other shiver down her spine.

The world No. 1 was not her usual self on Thursday. She has won six tournaments in seven starts on the LPGA Tour this season, including her first major, the Chevron Championship. Her B game has managed to win trophies. But Korda still crumbled within the face of this US Open challenge. She didn't have it in her. She needs a completely difficult second round to even take into consideration making the cut.

“I'm only human,” Korda said after signing off her rating of 10 over par. “I'm going to have bad days. Up until now, I've played really solid golf. Today was just a bad day. That's all I can say.”

That was all there was to it. Korda lost her game on a golf course that demands precision and control. It began after her third tee shot of the day on the 150-yard par-3 twelfth hole, which one player described as a hole where “you can't miss a shot.” Korda learned that the hard way.

After waiting on the tee for greater than 25 minutes, Korda's group had seen all of it. Ingrid Lindblad, the world's top amateur, hit a ball into the creek in front of the green. Gaby Lopez was caught in a gust of wind so strong that her ball landed in front of the identical hazard. When the green was finally clear, Korda decided to make use of the knowledge she had gathered through the agonizingly long wait. She hit her club higher, even ensuring to hit her ball a club length behind the markers to be secure, and smashed a 6-iron into the back bunker. The ball was secure. But not for long.

With a leaf inconveniently lodged within the sand beneath her ball, Korda's shot had no likelihood of coming to rest on the sleek, back-to-front slanting putting surface. Her ball crashed into the water. She landed on the other side of the meandering creek. One penalty. She chipped, and her ball rolled back into the water – again. Two penalty strokes. Another drop. Another chip within the creek. Three penalty strokes. Her third chip finally missed the opening by an extended shot.

Two putts. A ten on the scorecard.

The world primary in golf, Nelly Korda, scores a ten (!) on the par 3 hole 12 on the US Women's Open. #One of us pic.twitter.com/pknN91pLKT

– Heaven! (@HeavensFX) May 30, 2024

Korda struggled for air the remaining of the day. The pars felt like small victories. The sloppy mistakes continued to harm and her pace of play was noticeably faster.

“I just didn't want to shoot 80 and I kept making bogeys,” Korda said, suddenly remembering her recent history at this championship. “My last two rounds at the U.S. Women's Open were not good. I think I shot 81 on Sunday at Pebble and today I shot 80.”

Korda's total on the primary nine holes rose so high that the flag bearer, who was walking together with her group, struggled to seek out the right number cards representing her rating next to her name, leaving the course temporarily empty, to the confusion of many spectators. She finished her first nine holes with a rating of 10-over 45.

Though they were bewildered by Korda's play – and at times silent as she dropped her driver after mishit tee shots – those spectators never left. They turned out in droves Thursday morning to observe the world No. 1 walk the narrow fairways at Lancaster, a crowd befitting her latest status in the sport but not all the time because of the venue or other outside aspects. After a neighborhood mother and daughter caught wind of her seven-bogey, they rushed to the course, hoping to catch a glimpse of Korda before she potentially missed the weekend.

Korda's robust gallery was by far the biggest of the morning wave, and its members clapped in awe at her brilliance and offered her words of encouragement as she someway salvaged a three-birdie 35 on the back nine.

The battle between the world number ones on Thursday in Lancaster was as relatable because it gets. This game is fickle. It's maddening. Sometimes it doesn't make sense. Sometimes it could feel like child's play. And nobody has understood the latter higher than Korda, who has been at the highest of the rankings for nearly three months. But she also knows that feeling doesn't last ceaselessly on this sport – not even for the most effective player on this planet.

On Tuesday, Korda spoke in regards to the phenomenon, almost foreshadowing the carnage that will happen two days later. “I think that's what makes this game so great. You can be on top of the world for the first two days, and then you wake up and think, 'What am I doing? Why am I hitting the ball sideways?' And you have no idea what's going on,” Korda said. “It's funny, golf is such a tough game.”

After signing her scorecard, answering exactly three questions on her round within the interview room, and gathering together with her team behind the clubhouse, Korda headed back to the practice range. When she reached her spot on the left fringe of the teeing area, she didn't quickly grab a club or pause to examine missed messages on her phone. She sat cross-legged on the grass. Korda remained silent and alone for a number of moments.

It only took her a second.

CLIFTON, NJ – Big things have been expected of Rose Zhang because the two-time NCAA champion won her skilled debut last 12 months and joined the LPGA Tour the next week.

On Sunday, the 20-year-old finally delivered again, birdieing 4 of the last five holes to win the Cognizant Founders Cup. She defeated Madelene Sagstrom by two strokes, officially ending Nelly Korda's record-breaking winning streak on the LPGA Tour.

“I have been able to grow so much over the course of the journey over the past year,” Zhang said. “I don’t know, it’s crazy coming out here. I didn't expect to have to win because I realize it's all just noise and I just have to be able to work at it myself and do my best to get myself into those positions.

“But no matter what happened this week, I would have been very happy and it has reignited my passion for the game,” she added after her win on Mother’s Day.

Zhang, who was talking to her mother as she entered the media room, actually had a fun begin to her round. The Stanford product almost fell on her rear end and took successful from a clumsy position on the primary hole. The shot could have gone anywhere. It hit the pin and he or she made par.

“I just thought, wow, I mean, today is probably going to be a lucky day,” said Zhang, who was playing far back with Sagstrom in a stroke-play duel with the remainder of the sector. “Maybe I can get something going. I couldn't have imagined who I am now, especially after 12.

Sagstrom birdied that hole to take a three-shot lead, and things weren't looking good for Zhang.

Things got better at the event where the 13 founding members of the tour were honored.

Zhang, who shot a 6-under 66, made birdies on Nos. 14, 15, 17 and 18 at Upper Montclair Country Club, while Sagstrom bogeyed the 16th to finish two points behind.

Korda, who has struggled the past two days after winning magnificently five straight times she competed, began the day 11 shots behind and shot her second straight 73 to finish in seventh place at 7 under to reach.

She didn't regret anything. She hopes someone joins her and Hall of Famers Nancy Lopez and Annika Sorenstam in winning five or more in a row.

“But to be able to do this with all the competition out here is super, super rewarding considering how much work I put in,” Korda, 25, said. “That's why I think it's amazing to have such a winning streak in any sport, considering how much talent I think every athlete has in their sport. “Just an incredible feeling and hopefully it’ll be felt someday.”

It was a heartbreaking end for Sagstrom, the 31-year-old Swede who started the day with a lead and was hoping for her first win since 2020 and second overall on the Tour.

“I did so well this week. I worked really hard for a long time,” Sagstrom said. “I putted incredibly. It's really high up there. That's probably why it hurts more. Nothing against Rose. She played incredibly. I wish I had given myself a few more chances at the end. I didn't want it to end like this. This is probably the best golf I’ve played in years.”

Sagstrom led by three shots after 13 minutes, but Zhang made a birdie putt after 14 minutes and made an 8-footer on the next shot to pull within one point. It was tied at 16, with Sagstrom missing a 10-foot par putt after a bad chip from the back edge.

After Sagstrom saved par on the par-3 17th with a quick 25-foot shot downhill, Zhang took the lead with a short birdie putt and tied it on the final hole while Sagstrom waited for a birdie attempt.

Zhang, who won in her professional debut last year at nearby Liberty National, posted a score of 24-under 264.

Rookie Gabriela Ruffels of Australia finished third at 9 under, her best finish. She shot 71. Peiyun Chien of Taiwan and Ruoning Yin and Xiyu Lin of China were tied at 8 under.

The heights they reach have turn out to be comical, two golfers taking up their respective sports with such dominance that it's hard to assume – a minimum of for this moment – that anyone could beat them.

Nelly Korda just won her fifth straight start, ending with a significant, the Chevron Championship. Scottie Scheffler has just won 4 of 5 starts with a Masters in the center. The number 1s in the boys's and girls's worlds are not any longer just the perfect players of their sport. They turn out to be the perfect of all time. It's gotten to the purpose where Scheffler was jokingly asked this week in Hilton Head if the 2 were competing.

“I don't know, man,” he joked, “I think if it's a competition, she's pretty much beaten me right now.” Five wins in a row. She had that T16 at first of the yr that was just terrible. I can’t imagine she did that.”

And with their great runs has come a fun little trend: Who can post probably the most ridiculous, impressive stats or notes to quantify how incredible their golf was in 2024?

“Best five weeks since then.”

“I’ve won the most strokes since then.”

It's gotten so extreme and entertaining that we decided to compile a listing of probably the most impressive and meaningful notes from Scheffler and Korda's historic runs.

1. In their last 10 combined starts, Korda and Scheffler have beaten 1,163 golfers, per Monday Q Info. Only one golfer hit. Stephen Jaeger avoided a playoff and beat Scheffler by one shot on the Houston Open after his putt on 18 missed. For Korda, it’s the primary time since Annika Sorsenstam (2004, 2005) that somebody has won five consecutive LPGA events. Scheffler's WW-T2 WW run is just the fifth series of 5 or more T2s within the last 30 years. Tiger Woods did it eight times in a row and on one other occasion seven times in a row. Scheffler matched Vijay Singh's 2004 run.

2. Korda and Scheffler became the second pair of world No. 1s in men's and girls's golf to win major tournaments in consecutive weeks (for the reason that inception of the Rolex Women's World Golf Ranking). According to Tiger and Lorena Ochoa, this was achieved in consecutive weeks on the Women's British Open and the 2007 PGA Championship Contributor Justin Ray.

3. In the last 42 days, Scheffler has earned $16.3 million. That's the second-most earnings in a PGA Tour season, and he's done it in only five events. That means Ted Scott, Scheffler's caddy, made about $1.78 million this yr, putting him at No. 45 on the 2024 PGA Tour money list, ahead of Rory McIlroy.

Scheffler is chasing his own record. He earned $21.04 million last season.

4. It's not only Scheffler's victories. These are his two years of historic consistency. Scheffler has finished in the highest three in 23 of his last 51 events, beating almost all the field 43 percent of the time. For reference, Xander Schauffele is the No. 2 player at DataGolf and one of the consistent players in men's skilled golf not named Scheffler. Schauffele's pre-RBC Heritage betting odds had him ending in the highest five 30 percent of the time. Scheffler ended up in the highest three almost one and a half times as quickly.

5. Scottie's lead on this planet rankings over No. 2 Rory McIlroy is larger than McIlroy's lead over No. 788 Tiger Woods. Scheffler has twice as many OWGR points as McIlroy, with 690 total points, a median of 15 points to McIlroy's 338 points, which corresponds to a median of seven.4.

The gap between world No. 1 Nelly Korda and world No. 2 Lilia Vu within the Rolex Women's Golf Rankings is similar because the gap between Vu and the 185th ranked player, Auston Kim.

6. Scheffler has twice as many rounds of 64 or lower (4) as rounds of even par (2) this season. Even par is his worst results of 2024 (Round 2 on the Houston Open and Masters). He hasn't shot over par since a 3-over 73 on the Tour Championship in August.

7. With her win on the Chevron Championship, Korda became the third LPGA player, joining Nancy Lopez (1978) and Sorenstam, to win five tournaments in five starts. After withdrawing from the LA Championship this week, Korda might be aiming for a record sixth victory on the Founders Cup (May 9-12 in Clifton, NJ).

eighth. No American golfer had won five tournaments in a single LPGA season since July Inkster in 1999. Korda had won just five tournaments in a row before May.

9. Korda leads the LPGA points race for the 2024 season with 2,702 CME Globe points. Lydia Ko is in second place and has earned lower than half of that. Korda has already collected enough points to complete third in each of the last two years.

10. The 25-year-old Korda became the youngest American player to win a second LPGA major since July Inkster (23) in 1984 (over Justin Ray). From 1984 to 2002, Inkster ultimately won seven. Meg Mallon is the one other American woman to achieve 4 majors within the twenty first century. Korda is halfway there.

The only excellent news for the remainder of the PGA and LPGA tours? Scheffler and Korda have decided to take this week off.

The athlete