Nelly Korda watches her tee shot during the first round for the LPGA golf tournament at Golden in Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club, Thursday, March 4, 2021, in Ocala, Fla.Cyndi Chambers/The Associated Press
Nelly Korda tried to catch her breath in the three days between winning the Gainbridge LPGA in Orlando and beginning play in the Drive On Championship in Ocala, Fla., this week.
“I took Monday off, did laundry, drove up here, got tested,” Korda said. “But I was actually really tired.”
She hid her fatigue well. Korda carded a 5-under-par 67 to grab a share of the lead Thursday at Golden Ocala.
Jennifer Kupcho and Austin Ernst also shot 5 under to form a three-way tie for first place. Jing Yan and Jaye Marie Green are one shot back at 4 under, while 10 others are two strokes back of the lead at 3 under.
One of the golfers sitting at 3 under is Jessica Korda, who played with her sister Nelly in the opening round. Jessica Korda is ranked No. 1 in the world, while Nelly Korda is close behind at No. 3.
Both Kordas said they enjoyed playing together in the same pairing.
“It was fun,” Jessica Korda said. “She was making birdies on top of me and I was like, ‘Come on, let me have one.’”
Kupcho finished with a share of the lead despite sustaining a migraine headache.
“It’s pretty bad,” Kupcho said. “Even right now it’s really blurry. I can’t really see anything over to the left. So, yeah, it’s definitely really hard. I pretty much just leaned a lot on my caddy and just trusted him and tried to do the best that I could.”
The top trio wrapped up with Ernst, who surged to a tie atop the leaderboard by shooting 5 under on the back nine.
“I play well when I’m aggressive, so I’ll kind of keep staying aggressive and kind of keep attacking pins when I can,” Ernst said. “With how my putter worked today, I know when I don’t (get close), I can still make some 25, 30-footers. Keep doing the same thing I did today.”