Nelly Korda's Paris Olympics disaster: What happened on hole 16?

World no.1 Nelly Korda was the obvious favorite for the gold medal at the currently ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics. And while the defending champion is still in contention for a podium finish, it won't be as breezy as many had predicted.

The US golfer has had phenomenal 2024 season with six LPGA Tour wins, five of which were back-to-back, and her second major title at the Chevron Championship. The Olympics, however, have turned the tables a bit, as she currently sits in 12th place after the culmination of the second round.

What appeared to be a major setback for Korda was the 16th hole. She was six-under-par at the event when she arrived at the 16th. At the hole, her tee shot landed in the water. Further, while hitting from the drop zone, she landed in the bunker. She needed five shots to reach the green, and another two to make the putt. Her attempts to make a comeback narrowed considerably after a missed triple bogey.

After a series of serious blunders, her score dropped down to two-under. Nelly Korda still has two more days to go to fight her way back into contention for the gold medal.

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"Just a series of unfortunate events happened in a row" - Nelly Korda

Nelly Korda (Source: Imagn)

Defending champion from Tokyo 2020, Nelly Korda incurred some heavy losses at the 16th hole that could cost her the opportunity to successfully retain her gold medal.

According to National Club Golfer, she explained what went wrong:

"I played 16 holes of really, really solid golf. I was six-under to that point, and I just hit my shot a little out right. I was a little hesitant being in between clubs. Just hit a really poor wedge shot and I was plugged in the bunker."

After arriving at the 16th hole, things just kept getting worse for Korda. She acknowledged the mishaps, and said:

"Those bunkers are really firm and when I tried to be a little aggressive with them, my ball just shot to the back of the green. Just a series of unfortunate events happened in a row, but I ended on a birdie and made a wonder putt after leaving myself in not the easiest of positions on the right side of the green having to go through almost through the sprinklerheads."

Despite it all, Nelly Korda is keeping a positive outlook.

"Overall, I still shot under par. I’m going to try and take the positive,"

After the end of round 2, Swiss golfer Morgane Metraux is leading the pack with a score of eight-under. She is followed by Ruoning Yin of China, and Lydia Ko of New Zealand.